


The Truth Of Reality And Perception

by Destiel_Sabriel4eva



Series: The Misadventures of Arleia Skywalker/Forget Me Not [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Suicide but not in a depression kind fo way, Author Is Sleep Deprived, F/F, F/M, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Sort Of, Time Travel, it's complicated - Freeform, well yes in a depression kind of way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2018-12-26 13:22:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 83,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12059856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destiel_Sabriel4eva/pseuds/Destiel_Sabriel4eva
Summary: Arleia Skywalker was sold when she was 5 years old.  Separated from her Family, Arlie goes on the accidental adventure of her life.  Eventually ending up at the Jedi Temple, can young Arlie succeed?  Or is there something following her out of the dark...





	1. Chapter 1 - Good bye

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first story on this site, it will be part of a three part series that I have spent over a year working on so, I hope it turned out okay. It was only meant to be a short story...It really got away from me.  
> Jedi will appear in Chapter 2 so, hold on for that.  
> Now, on with the story!

_So much has changed, so much is new_

_But through it all I’m here with you._

_My teacher, my mentor, my father, and friend,_

_I’m here with you until the very end._

_It’s one hell of a battle, but I’ll see it through._

_No matter how broken I get, I **will** save you._

_I’m in love with the safety you project,_

_A chance to betray you I’ll always reject._

_The times I have hurt you I forever regret,_

_No matter what I know that **you’d never forget**._

Chapter 1

“Please Watto, don’t sell my daughter.” Shmi Skywalker begged her owner, her face was wet but for once it was not sweat from Tatooine’s twin suns.

“I don’t want to but it’s business, I need the money, you understand.” Watto said blowing off her arguments.  She never argues with him unless it concerns the safety of her children, and boy did this ever.  Watto exchanged the money and told Shmi to say goodbye.

“It’s happening isn’t it mummy.” Five-year-old Arleia Skywalker asked frightened.  She managed to reign it in and stay calm because she knew that the baby she held was sensitive to other people’s emotions.   If she panicked, her little brother would be scared too and she would never do anything that scared her baby brother.

“I’m so sorry Arlie, now listen.  I need you to be brave, we will see each other again, I know it.  Have faith that things will be okay sweetheart, and remember that I love you.”  Shmi told her daughter who bit her lip to keep from crying.  Shmi was overcome with pride, her daughter was strong and she would be okay.  Arleia handed her brother to her mother before kissing his forehead.

“I love you Anakin.”  She whispered careful not to wake him, she didn’t want her brother to see this.  “Goodbye.”

 

2 years later…

Everything happened so quickly, Arleia was on the ship transporting her and her owners to another outer rim planet when there was a sudden and harsh jolt that left her sprawled on the floor.  Then they were boarded, she saw people running past her that she realized must be pirates. She’d heard of pirates from smugglers but she didn’t think she’d ever meet any, she was curious about them and hoped perhaps they’d need help and free her to live among them.  One of them noticed her and grabbed her, she closed her eyes and wished with all her might that her dream would come true, she would be freed and would be a pirate too, then she could steal her mother and brother from Watto and they could all be pirates.  It wasn’t until she was shoved into a tiny room in their ship that reality caught up with her, she’d just been kidnapped by pirates, and there would be no freedom for her.

She woke up sometime later and didn’t remember going to sleep, she was so scared she thought she might have cried herself to sleep.  Then she saw a blue light coming from the darkness surrounding her, it grew and grew until she could barely look at it.  It was some strange oval of swirling shades of blue just floating in the darkness.

“Come Arleia, let me save you.” A melodic voice called softly from within the swirling light.  She weighed her options, either she went in, or she stayed with pirates.  As far as she was concerned, there was little choice, her mind made up, she stepped into the light.

 

In the next moment, she found herself in a place that seemed to be solid blackness and total white at the same time.

“Careful, take your time.  I know it can be disorienting at first.  Human brains were not made to process this place.  No one was really.”  The voice called again, now though she could sort of see who was talking.  Everything looked wrong though, she wondered if this was how people saw things while high on spice.

“Who are you?  And, where am I?” Arleia asks, even to her ears her voice sounded slurred, or perhaps only to her ears.  Things were very confusing, but they seemed to be clearing up as she finally adjusted to this new place she found herself in.

“You’re in the in-between.  I’m a force-seer.  I was told about your predicament and couldn’t leave you where you were while so defenseless.”  The woman in front of her explains, poorly.  Now that she could see clearly, Arleia realized that the lady in front of her was a Wookiee, only she spoke perfect basic.  Or did Arlie gain the ability to speak perfect shriwook.  “It’s hard to explain, but everything here is being tailored so that you can perceive it in the best way it can be perceived.  I’m not speaking basic and you aren’t hearing my language but that’s how it seems.”  The Wookiee tells her, Arlie questioned whether or not she had spoken aloud.

“What’s an in-between?  And what’s a force-seer?” Arleia asks feeling more confused every time the lady in front of her tried to explain.

“Okay, so, beginner’s physics.  There are universes beyond our own that run parallel to ours.  No one should be able to cross them, but I have friends in high places.  The in-betweens are the spaces that don’t quite exist and separate these universes.  This one stands between our universe and one that doesn’t have a name, but the galaxy closest to this point in a complicated relative sense of no distance but infinite distance is called the milky way.”  The female Wookie answers.

“What do you mean don’t quite exist?  We’re here now, it has to exist.”  Arleia says emotion clouding her voice, she was so very confused and was beginning to wish she had stayed with the pirates.

“Ah and there is the crux of the matter, your perception determines your reality.  Do you remember how I told you this place was trying to make it easier for you to perceive it?  Well it can’t be processed by your brain because it isn’t exactly here.  It’s a place of nothing between two somethings and therefore doesn’t quite exist but also can’t not exist.”

“Somehow I think I am actually beginning to understand.  You still haven’t told me what a force-seer is.”

“Yes of course, a force-seer is someone that the force has chosen to interact with in a more direct way than most force sensitive beings get to.  It’s a very fortunate gift to have even if it then means that you have to put up with knowing a great many things you probably wished you didn’t.  I wasn’t exactly supposed to interfere with your kidnapping but I couldn’t just leave you there.  I’m a Jedi you see, it’s hard wired into me to protect those that can’t protect themselves.”

“Does that mean that you’re going to keep me here?”

“No Arlie of course not, when I send you back though, you’ll appear exactly where you were at the same moment you left, that can’t be helped.”

“Then why bring me here at all?”

“I told you, I couldn’t leave you there defenseless.  I’m going to teach you to defend yourself, when I send you back you’ll be able to survive long enough for help to arrive.  And help will arrive Arlie, I promise.”

“Well then, Madam Force-seer, we best get on with it.”

 

Some indeterminant time later…

“Madam force-seer, you said a while ago, or maybe not that long ago, that I would arrive back in the same moment I left.  How is that possible?”  Arleia asks as they sit, or seeing as there wasn’t really a ground or any solid surface I suppose they just sort of existed in a position that if there had been a ground, would have had them comfortably on it.

“When I brought you here I pulled you out of the universe, out of all universes, such a thing should not be possible.  I’m sure you’ve realized on some level if not conscious thought, there is no life here, there is nothing here.  We sit on nothing, we don’t eat as there is no food, we do not breathe as there is no air, and we do not sleep for we have no need to.  We are in a place that does not exist and thus, we do not exist.  Not in any way we can understand anyway.  In this place, we will not age nor will we die.  No time has passed since you arrived yet in your perception it was a long time ago, or perhaps mere moments.  When left with no reality, we all perceive nothing differently.  It’s also important to note that even in our universe time is just a construct that sentient beings have made, that’s why it can be measured differently by different standards.  Everything is happening at once when a part of reality, our minds just perceive things as linear, in this place though, nothing is happening.”  The force-seer replies sounding highly amused as she watches her charge’s face scrunch in confusion.

“Okay got it, we are in nothing, so we are nothing and since we are nothing so is time.  Nothing is happening so no time can be passing so I’ll be returned to where I was in the same moment because we are still in that moment even though we aren’t in anything.”

“You catch on quick.”

“How did you know my name?” The Wookie looks at her in confusion, “You called me Arlie, no one calls me Arlie anymore.  Actually, it’s been a long time since anyone called me or asked me my name at all, so how did you know?” Her teacher gives her a kind smile, the smile Arleia has learnt means she will get no real answer.

“You will answer that question yourself one day.”

 

In that prolonged non-moment Arleia learnt more than she could have ever possibly imagined.  Not only that but she gradually learnt to accept that what she perceived as existence was a lack of existence.  What seemed both black and white was her mind attempting to comprehend the lack of colour, the lack of anything.  She knew that she could hear nothing in this place yet somehow when her teacher spoke she understood her words perfectly.  As there was no need to rest, for no one tires in less than a moment, they worked constantly and Arleia soon found herself perfecting all that her teacher hoped to teach.

“What is it that you are teaching me my mentor?” Arleia asks politely, she had begun picking up the force-seer’s mannerisms despite having spent no time together, equally they had spent eternity in this in-between place of non-existence.

“It’s called force-magic.  Not many people know of its existence.  It didn’t fit in with current, or well, in the time you exist in reality, understandings of the light and dark sides of the force and so went out of practice.  When the force began talking to me it taught me how to use force-magic.  Said that one day it would be the difference between all realities existing and nothing.”

“That’s a lot of pressure to have been placed on you.”

“I do not believe it will solely be my responsibility to save it all, it’s my belief that I must teach other Jedi the skill so that they may join me in whatever battle or situation I one day find myself in.  Or perhaps I will not be there at all and it is simply my job to ensure others are prepared to defend reality from whatever threat is around.”

“How are you going to do that?  It sounds like the Jedi order would not be too fond of you teaching any of its members to use this.”

“That, child, is exactly why I need the Jedi order to evolve by the time I reach the age and skill level I am currently at.”

“Howwww are you gonna do that?  I realize that time isn’t really a thing so things can’t really be in the past but you are already your current age.”  Arleia says feeling almost as confused as she was when she first arrived.

“Well, I am not exactly sure.  Technically speaking, going ‘back in time’ should be as simple as stepping from one place to another.  But it’s not and I don’t know that that is in fact the answer.”  Madam force-seer replies.

“Well where are you in my current perception of time in reality?  Perhaps I can find you and help.” She questions her mentor.

“I believe I was born three months previous to that point of reality.” She gets in answer.

“You’re a baby?  But you’re an adult?  You’re from the future, but you just said you can’t time travel.  I’m so confused.  This is not the sort of thing a seven-year-old should have to put up with.”

“You’ve been in this moment for eternity Arleia, you are hardly a normal seven-year-old.  Besides, you don’t exist.  Your brain can’t process any of this yet in a sense it does, do you really believe yourself trapped in a seven-year-old’s level of thinking?”

“I suppose not.”

“And in answer to your question, I didn’t travel in time.  I brought myself to this place and then reached out and pulled you in.”

“I really need to learn when not to question things.”  Arleia decides while laughing, her mentor laughs with her.

“Ahh but young Arlie, the one who asks questions does not lose his way.”

“I already told you Madam, no one calls me Arlie.” She complains to the Wookie who simply chuckles at her.

“Yes, and since I do not exist at the moment, that statement remains truth.

“I am not arguing that point with you right now, but listen, if you are not yet your age and skill level in my perception of time in my current place in reality, then perhaps I can make the Jedi order ready for when you are.”

“That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself Arleia, I can’t ask you to do that.”  Force-seer says in concern.  She truly had grown to care for this child.

“I know, but you’ve taught me to accept what reality truly is to the best of my ability for now.  You’ve taught me to use force magic in a place where the force doesn’t even really exist, where we don’t.  I know it will be difficult but I want to help.” Arleia replies resolutely.

“All right Arlie, then when you go home and help comes and come it will, stay close to the Jedi and make sure they are willing to evolve.  You’ll have approximately 30 years and it may take all of them.”

“I won’t fail my mentor, I swear it.”

“I know.”

 

 

“You’re ready Arleia, I’ve nothing more to teach you.” The Wookie tells Arleia.

“I’ll miss you Madam Force-seer.  See you in 30 years I suppose.  Thank you for all you’ve done for me.” Arleia says trusting her teacher completely to know when she is ready.

“No Arlie, thank you…oh no.” Arleia’s teacher said, her voice full of panic.

“What is it my Mentor?  What’s wrong?” Arleia asks concerned, she had never heard her teacher scared before.

“Arlie, do you trust me?”

“Implicitly, even when you refuse to call me by my name.” Her Mentor chuckles briefly.

“Good, now something is about to happen.  Do you remember when I mentioned the galaxy called the milky way?  Well you are about to end up in it.  A heavily populated world called Earth.  I don’t know how long you will be there but I’ll find a way to bring you back as soon as possible.  I mentioned we aren’t meant to be here, well we are under attack.  It’s hard to explain and one day I may be able to but not now.  I need you to be brave Arlie and remember that I will find you and bring you home.  And Arlie.”

“Yes Mentor?” Arleia asks trying to stay calm, it was all too reminiscent of having to say goodbye to her mother so very very long ago.

“You have the greatest capacity to love that I have ever seen in anyone, including the force.  Don’t ever lose that.” Her Wookie teacher told her, then everything became a total blur of overwhelming colour and noise and movement and feelings and oh my god how do you breathe?  What is all of this?  What’s happening…and then nothing.  Not the kind of nothing she was used to, but the kind of nothing that comes from a lack of conscious thought.

 

 

Arleia woke up, and wasn’t that weird considering how long it had been since she experienced sleep.  Or not long at all but perception wise, it’s still confusing.  In any case, she was not used to the feeling.  She looked around and saw…things!  It has been so long since she saw things.  Her brain took in everything as if it had missed that ability.  It was so hard to discern colours and she knew she’d have to relearn them.  The sounds were the hardest thing, after so long, or short, without any kind of stimuli, the sound was the most overwhelming to suddenly have return.

She remembered in short order where her teacher had said she’d be, this is Earth.  She took a look around and saw things she had never seen.  Of course, the extent of her experience is poor outer rim settlements and cheap freighter ships.  Well, and nothing.

She was on what seemed to be some kind of bed, it was strange to feel something beneath her again.  She was wearing some odd kind of dress that she knew she hadn’t been wearing before.  There was strange equipment around her and something attached to her arm, it hurt.  She also saw lots of signage that all appeared to be close enough to basic that she could easily piece together the meaning.  It seems she was in some kind of medical facility, she’d never been in one of those before, slaves didn’t have great access to such things.

“Ah you’re awake.  Hello, my name is Dr. Holp, I’ve been your attending physician since you arrived.” A voice said from the doorway she had yet to notice.

“Um, pleasure to meet you Sir Dr. Holp.” Arlie replied trying to be polite while she adjusted to the sound of someone actually properly speaking, something she had not heard, or been able to register, in a long, or short, time.

“Just Dr. Holp is fine Miss.  Now what’s the last thing you remember?” Dr. Holp asked patiently, she thought for a moment, what was she supposed to tell him?  She couldn’t feel the force and wondered if this universe had any knowledge of it.  She decided that until Madam Force-seer returned her to the pirate ship she should keep a low profile, time to pull the scared seven-year-old card.

“I’m not sure sir, I-I do not remember anything.”  She said as she began crying, it took her a few seconds to realize they weren’t fake tears.  She hadn’t had time to process the frightening experience of being captured by pirates and locked in that tiny room alone while in the in-between.  Hell of a time for it to catch up with her.

“That’s all right kid, no need to worry, we’ll sort this out.  Do you know your name?  How old you are?  Anything?”

“N-no, I’m s-sorry Dr. Ho-olp.”

“Well, how about I tell you what I know and we’ll see if that helps you remember?”  Dr. Holp offers, Arleia nods hoping it will give her more information of where she is.  “Well, an elderly couple found you in an alleyway in Rundle Mall.  You were unconscious and had a nasty bump on your head.  That was about 8 hours ago.”  Arlie reached behind her head and felt the bump, she guessed it must have happened when she fell during the pirate boarding of her owner’s ship.

“What is Rundle Mall?”  Arleia questioned curiously wanting to know more about the place she would be living for a little while.  Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say because the man’s face became grave.

“It’s a shopping mall, do you know where you are?”  He asked calmly.

“In a medical facility sir.”  She replied confused, he sighed quietly.

“I more meant do you know where the hospital is located.”  He explained.  So, they call them hospitals here, interesting.

“The planet Earth.”  She answered calmly, unsure why she felt that may not be what he was looking for.

“Well, better than you thinking you were on Mars.” He said, at her confused reaction he backtracked, “You’re in Adelaide in Australia.”  Dr. Holp said growing more worried when there was no hint of recognition in her eyes.  “Now, there’s going to be a lady that’s going to come talk to you.  She’ll ask you lots of questions about who you are, where you’re from and your parents.  It may get annoying if you still can’t remember but try to be patient, she needs to ask them.” He was nervous about how the child in front of him would do with child protection services poking their noses in but he had no choice.  He did take note of the sad glimmer in her eyes when he mentioned her parents.

“I will do my best Dr. Holp.” She replied bowing her head slightly, a habit she picked up as a slave.  Things were always safer if you show recognition of authority, she had no idea that in this place, it was just weird.

 

There was a lot of anger and frustration following that.  Dr. Holp was eventually forced to request the woman from CPS leave his patient alone as the stress may aggravate her head wound.  The resulting argument ended with Dr. Holp getting temporary guardianship of his patient.  As a result, when she was cleared later that day, she came home with him.

“I’ve just realized that we don’t have a name to introduce you by.”  Dr. Holp said in the car on the way to his home.  She was very grateful she could go with the person who had been her constant throughout the stressful day, but was nervous to meet the wife and son he had mentioned.

“Perhaps you should pick one to address me by.”  Arlie suggested falling back on the politeness her mother had ingrained into her due to her nerves.  It was a habit that had been encouraged by her Mentor and she knew would not leave her for many years, if at all.

“Are you asking me to name you?”

“Well, why not?” He considered her words for a moment.

“Fair point I suppose.  What about Kellie? Hmmm no, Samantha?” He suggested, she scrunched her nose up at both of them.  “Phoebe?”  He looked back at her, “Yeah, I think Phoebe suits you well.”  Arlie thought it over for a moment, she hated lying to the man who had been so kind to her, but she had to think of her own universe, she made a promise to her Mentor to make the Jedi evolve and she couldn’t do that if she couldn’t get home.  She still believed that keeping her head down was the best option, at least for now.  She sucked in a breath and nodded her head, she could live as Phoebe.

“I like it.  May I ask, what are you kin’s names?”  Arleia asks, every now and then she would say something and he would look at her in bewilderment, she mentally sighs her frustration as she realized what must be happening.  Her dialect was standing out in those moments, she supposed it would fade in time, though she hoped she wouldn’t be here that long.

“My wife’s name is Tina and my son’s name is Patrick or Patty.  He’s a bit older than you, I think at least.  He’s ten years old.”  Dr. Holp replied in answer.  Patrick would be three years older than her if this planet’s measure of time is standard, although she believed that they had no such thing.  From what she had been able to gather, Earth was alone in the galaxy, there may be other species but the inhabitants of Earth couldn’t reach them nor confirm their existence.

“I am effervescent to meet them, they sound like lovely people.” Arleia found that to be true and was glad for it, she couldn’t let nerves ruin this.  She was building a profile for herself in her mind, better to get things straight now than as she goes.  Perhaps she was overthinking this…but what was normal behavior for an ‘amnesiac’ as Dr. Holp had called it?  He gives her an odd look again, she internally sighs at herself.

“Tina is definitely looking forward to company besides our son’s friends.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re great kids, for the most part, but I think she’s looking forward to feeding someone not liable to make flatulence jokes at the dinner table.”  Dr. Holp explains with a chuckle.  Arleia didn’t know what that meant but she got the gist of what he was saying and so laughed along, that must have been his goal because he looked pleased.

 

Arleia was lucky, the kin she found herself with were unable to have more children and so had begun the process to be able to foster children.  As it turned out, that was exactly why Arleia had been able to spend the night at Dr. Holp’s home that first day, or Evan as she was then told to call him.  It was Patrick, or Trick as she grew to call him, that first suggested they make her a permanent house guest and foster her instead of a baby.  To Arleia’s great surprise, Tina immediately agreed with her son, as did Evan.  She had to spend two nights in a group home while she was put into the system to begin with before it was all set in motion and she returned to her place in the Holp’s house, that was how she became Phoebe Faye Holp.  Arleia felt bad for a while, she loved living with them and knew they were truly going to accept her into their family, but she also knew she would be returning to her universe soon.  It was during her 10th birthday party that she stopped believing that, she broke down crying that night into the woman she had begun to see as a mother’s arms.  She was never going home.

It had been only three years but Arleia had gone to three schools, always being chased out by bullying either to her or her new brother.  She had gotten kicked out of one school for starting repeated fights, but those asses shouldn’t have been messing with the one friend she had.  She was about to move schools again because she was moving house, she knew she would soon be losing that friend as well, no one ever bothered to keep in touch.

A year later Evan and Tina split up, she wasn’t sure what happened, but Trick didn’t speak to their mother for three months.  A few years later Evan had a son with his new wife, Tina couldn’t have kids but she was engaged to a nice enough man.

When she entered high school, Arleia had been to five different schools, had no friends and was the most cynical 13-year-old around.  She had long ago stopped thinking she was ever returning to her old life, had grown to despise her mentor and this universe, and the old one, pretty much anything.  But not her siblings, never her siblings.  Sometimes she would look at her younger brother Sonny and wonder what became of her little Ani, she shut down that train of thought because it filled her normally cold or anger controlled heart with a sadness she didn’t know how to deal with.

When entering year 10 Arleia moved schools for the 7th time and went to ASMS ‘Australian Science and Mathematics School’.  That first year she made friends, properly good friends, or so she thought.  Then her girlfriend tricked her, made her a monster.  With a few sentences Arleia took everyone from a close friend, she had only meant to defend her girlfriend but instead left another girl completely alone.  In the end, she made things right and that girl became her best friend, Arlie’s now ex-girlfriend continued trying to mess with them for a long time but it no longer worked.  That same year two of Arleia’s friends killed themselves.  Arleia discovered her best friend to be as much of a liar as her girlfriend had been.  Thinking back on that year she could admit she had been no better and strived to change.  Her mental health had been improving after having a psychotic break during year 9, she missed a lot of school in year 10 as well, the events of that year had not helped but somehow, she had begun to heal.

It was in year 11 that she started slipping again, panic attacks growing worse and more frequent.  Then her father, the man she looked up to more than anyone had died in a car crash along with her step mother.  She pulled away from her family over the next few months but was more protective than ever of her younger brother.  One night, Arleia sat in front of Trick and realized she had something to say.

“Hey Trick, can we talk?”  She asked hesitantly, she didn’t know how he would react to this.

“You’re my little sister Phebs, you can always talk to me, as I’ve been telling you for months.” He replied a little coldly, she figured she deserved it.  She wasn’t the only one grieving after all and she had ignored that fact for too long.

“My name is Arleia, my birthday is the 19th of the 9th month.  So, September.” Arleia said counting it in her head to work out the month in comparison to the standard time from her old life, she hadn’t bothered in a long time.  It felt weird to say her name, say that birthday, it had been a long time and they didn’t really celebrate birthday’s on Tatooine.

“You remembered? When?” Trick asked looking shocked at his sister, she looked down guiltily.

“I never forgot Patrick.”

He was very angry she had lied to them for all those years, all she really had by way of explanation was kidnapping and slavery, which she did use, she just didn’t go into specifics and he figured she was from some faraway place where that was a thing.  The truth didn’t do much to change things between them, but when she had nightmares of her old life she’d go to him and they’d steal ice-cream from the freezer.  Three months later, a week after her 17th birthday, or when they celebrated it anyway, she went to him again.

“Patrick.”  She said to gain his attention, he was a bit tipsy, stupid twenty-year-old brothers not sharing they’re alcohol, it wasn’t like she hadn’t been drunk more times than he had anyway.  Not that he knew that for certain though he suspected, he wasn’t stupid after all.

“That is the same tone of voice you had when you told me your name was Aria or Alyssa or whatever.”  He said slurring slightly, Arleia knew he was concerned and she knew they had only spoken of it once three months ago but she was still hurt that he didn’t remember her name.  Not that she even really considered it her name anymore.

“I came to say goodbye.”  Arleia said surprising herself, she had no idea why but she knew she had to.

“You heading home?” He asked referring to the neighbourhood party happening on their street at their mother’s house, she lived in the hills and such gatherings were common place.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later.” She said ending the weird conversation she had started, as she entered her house she realized she was crying, she had no idea how wrong her words had been.

The next day she went to Rundle Mall after school with the intention of going to the city library to study and then buy some pyjamas she’d been eyeing off when she saw a flash of blue in an alleyway.  She walked down and saw a swirling floating oval of blue light just like the one she had seen a lifetime ago.

“Your choice.” The voice of her mentor drifted out softly, she debated it for a moment.  She had friends, she had a boyfriend and family and a life.  She thought about when she was younger and hesitant to get close to her family because she knew she had to leave, thought about her telling her friends she wouldn’t be moving again.  Thought about everything she didn’t want to lose, thought about her brother Sonny.  Then she thought of Anakin and her mother, she thought of the mentor she thought had long ago abandoned her.  She no longer cared to save the universe but she knew she had to go to her brother.  Sonny would always have Patrick, but Ani had no one but their mother who is probably dead from sickness or being over worked or heat stroke or something.  She turned around, looked out at the mall, thought of her whole life and came to the conclusion that there was nothing for her here but pain and ghosts, she walked into the light.  She thought it would tear her heart apart to do so, but she had long ago shut off her heart to the pain of leaving others, too many schools, too many deaths, she looked at everything as fleeting and unimportant now.

Upon leaving this life she had built she had many rules but three stuck out the most.

  1. Everything will eventually cause pain.
  2. There is no good and bad, everyone is capable of doing both given the right situation.
  3. Only fools trust people, including themselves.



 

 

 


	2. A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arlie finally makes it to the Jedi.

She opened her eyes and found herself in the dark, she was not afraid.  After all her time in the in-between, a lack of any of her senses was home to her.  She realized she was in the small room and began to panic, this room had haunted her dreams, not because of the dark, but because it was so so small and she couldn’t get out, can’t ever get out, she still can’t get out.  She forced herself to take some breaths and feel the returned thrum of the force that was almost overwhelming after a decade without it.  As she calmed she berated herself strongly for losing it.

“Bad stuff is gonna happen either way you imbisule, panicking isn’t gonna change that, it’s only gonna make it harder to deal with.”  She growled to herself.  She then did something that she didn’t do often, force-magic.  She never stopped being good at it, she learned long ago it was possible on Earth despite the distinct lack of force, it was the same way as it was in the in-between, the force was in her because of the universe she was born in and she can channel it through herself.  She thought back to what she had just said to herself and noticed something weird.  “What?” She noticed it again, her voice was weirdly high.  She patted herself down, recognizing the clothes she had worn the day she was kidnapped by pirates, her hair as long as it was that day and just as fuzzy.  It had the random tiny braids throughout it that she had a habit of doing when she was nervous.  She touched her nose and did not find the piercing she had given herself at fifteen.  Feeling her face and body, she realized what she could not see, she was seven-years-old…again.  This was second time she had been seven without thinking like a seven-year-old.

She sat in the dark using the purple glow her force-magic produced to see, she remembered what her mentor had told her a very long time ago, ‘when you go home and help comes and come it will’.  She hadn’t trusted her teacher in a long time but for the sake of her sanity, this time she chose to take comfort in her words, she couldn’t quite get over a decade of distrust in everything, but she tried hard to believe that help would come.

She spent a month on that pirate ship, no one had been interested in buying her yet so she helped out on the ship in exchange for being fed, when she wasn’t needed she was back in that room alone with her thoughts.  That hadn’t been a safe way for her to be since she was ten and her anxiety had started to become a debilitating issue, not helped by the depression that began setting in when she was 13.  She gave up thinking she would be rescued much quicker this time, no one would come for her.  As per usual it was up to her to look after herself, however this time she very easily believed that it wasn’t her mentor’s fault.

A little over a month since she returned to this universe she sat in her room messing around with the force when she felt the familiar jolt of a ship being boarded.  If she got kidnapped by more pirates she was just gonna give up on life and fight her way out, take control of one of the ships and high tail it back to Tatooine, free her mother and brother and they could live taking illegal shipments across the galaxy.  However, when the door opened it wasn’t pirates on the other side.

“Um, hi, sorry I was not expecting a person in here.” The raven-haired man before her said.

“Believe me it was not by choice.” She responded dryly.

“Where are my manners, I am Xanatos Du Crion, would you like some help to get out of there?”  He offered when neither had moved for a full minute as they sized each other up.

“I can manage on my own.” She stated coldly as she climbed out, then she sighed to herself.  “Sorry, thank you for the help.” She replied as she turned to look at him.  “Hold that thought.” She said as he opened his mouth to talk, she turned back to the tiny room behind her and used a simple, though it would look complex to anyone but her, movement of her hand and fingers before pushing the magic of the force through to follow her will, she made it melt the room.  Literally melt the entire room.

“How did you do that?” Xanatos asks bewildered and doing a terrible job of attempting to hide it.

“The force, I’m sure you’d know all about that wouldn’t you Jedi?” Arleia shoots back.

“How did you know I’m a Jedi?”  He asks suspiciously, she rolled her eyes at him.

“I can read minds, and see the future and the past, or maybe, the lightsaber in your hand gave it away genius.” She drawled her voice full of sarcasm, he looked like he couldn’t decide between being angry and being embarrassed.

“I think I should take you to my master.” He told her, she mulled over it.  She wanted her brother but something in the force told her that eventually, he’d be in the temple of the Jedi anyway.

“Lead the way Xan.”

They met up with an extremely tall man by the docking point of the ship.

“Padawan where have you been?  We are leaving.  Who is this?”  The man asks, not altogether rudely just rushed and his politeness seemed a tad forced like he had spent too many days in a heated debate and getting no sleep.  She recognized the look because people often got that way shortly after meeting her, weird.

“Hi, sorry he’s late, I delayed him.  My name is Arleia, these people kidnapped me and locked me in the equivalent of a small closet.  Your student here was kind enough to open the door.”  Arleia told him not wanting Xanatos to get in trouble because of her, she wasn’t worth it.  Boy, did it feel weird to introduce herself by her birth name again.

“Seems like you could have gotten it open on your own anyway.” Xanatos pointed out, she rolled her eyes again.

“Close quarters, anything I did would have harmed me too in some way, it was not yet worth it.” Arleia told him.

“You melted the entire thing!”

“Okay quick lesson for those present with an obvious history of rash decisions.  If I had been sitting in there when I melted it what would have happened to me?”  She asked him impatiently, he looked annoyed at her tone before realizing.

“You’d have either been badly burned from the heat or the molten metal would have covered you.  Or both.”  He said conceding her point.

“So, what have we learnt?”  She asked him equal parts condescending and sarcastic.  He rolled his eyes at her to which she glared.

“Think of the consequences before melting your prison cell?” He replied just as sarcastically, she shrugged.

“Close enough.” Arlie decided, meanwhile the Jedi master had watched the exchange with raised eyebrows.

“How is it that you melted the closet?”  said Jedi master asked.

“The force is capable of more than you know Master Jedi.” Arlie replied.  The Jedi looked to his student who nodded at him.

“I watched it happen Master Qui-Gon, nothing but an interesting and exceptionally skilled use of the force.” Xanatos confirms.

“Perhaps you should return to Coruscant with us.” The Jedi concluded after a moments silence.

“Well I got nowhere else to be, shall we get going before the pirates find the damage Master…sorry what was your name?” Arleia asks not sure whether she should be referring to him the way his student does.

“Master Jinn.” He replied with a slight bow of his head in greeting, she returned the nod out of respect.  “Shall we disembark?” He suggested, Xanatos heads onto the ship but Arleia falters.

“After you.” She says gesturing to the ship, she does it so that it seems politeness not fear of letting people be out of her field of vision, he notices but mentions nothing.

A few hours later they arrive on Coruscant, Arleia having spent her time calming Xanatos after he and Master Jinn had an argument five minutes into the flight.  The Jedi Master in question hauled up in the cockpit and has not left since.  When they leave, Master Jinn takes them straight to a room he calls the council chamber.  Arleia is vaguely familiar with the idea of the council from passing statements her teacher had said but for the most part had no idea what to expect.

When they enter the room Master Jinn stands in the middle and Xanatos slightly behind and to the right, Arleia stands to the left standing strong and confident by his side.

“Master Jinn, you seem to have picked up a passenger, who might this be?” A human looking Jedi Master asks from his seat, she acts by instinct as she walks forward to him and offers her hand.

“Hi, I’m Arleia Skywalker.  And you are?” She asks, he debates for a moment, she imagines were he not a Jedi Master he’d have looked quite shocked by her actions.

“Master Mace Windu of the Jedi Order.” He replies as he shakes her hand, she smiles a bit, more than she usually does anyway and he responds in kind.  Then there is an odd feeling building in her chest and in her mind spreading throughout her body, a feeling of warmth and that all is right as white light emanates from their joined hands, then it’s gone but she feels something in her mind she didn’t before.  Not liking the feeling of something having changed in her mind without her doing it she pulls back and backs away several steps.

“What on Earth was that?” Arlie asks working to replace the fear she fills with anger because anger she can deal with and suppress if needed, fear will always be her undoing.  She suddenly realises what she said and thanks a god she doesn’t believe in that everyone is too focused on what just happens to question her words.

“That was a force created training bond, my god I’ve never witnessed the creation of one before.” One of the other council members explains not even noticing who asked.

“Miss Skywalker, would you do me the honour of joining the Jedi Order and becoming my Padawan?” Master Windu asks shocking all occupants of the room.

“Mace, she’s far too old.” Another council member says, the way he says it makes her think the two are friends.

“It’s force-willed Micah, we follow the will of the force.” Master Windu shoots back, the Master, Micah, raises his hands in the universal I surrender position.

“I don’t like it when others try to tell me what to do, force included, but this seems fun so what the hell, sure.” Arlie replies flippantly making all eyes look at her like she’s crazy.

“Well at least you won’t be starting from scratch Master Windu, she already has some control over the force.” Master Jinn informs the room, once again all eyes turn to her except now they are calculating glances.

“In order, a demonstration is.” A little green Jedi Master suggests sounding older than she first guessed him to be.

“Oh, it is, is it?” Arlie replies sarcastically not liking these people thinking they can just order her around.

“What he means is, would you mind showing us what it is you can do?  It would be ever so helpful.” Master Micah says just as sarcastically, she smirks at him and he knows he’s won that round.

“I’m in for an interesting few years, aren’t I?” Master Windu asks sounding as though he’s already accepted this.

“Yep.” She replies with the smirk still firmly on her face.  Then she moves her hands in and fingers in intricate ways before pushing the force through to do her will, the purple of her power flows all throughout the room before dissipating entirely leaving behind clouds in the room that begin raining, it falls on everyone and soon there are puddles all over the room.

“Well as impressive as this is, can you make it stop?” Master Windu requests, the first of the rooms occupants to recover from their shocked and bewildered stupor.

“Any chance you can dry this place too?” Another Council member, who until now had been silent, requests.  Arleia complies to both requests.

“Explain you will, what it is that was.” The green one requests though it was anything but nice, Arleia was beginning to dislike this guy.  Well, in truth, she dislikes everyone upon first meeting them but now she was finding reason for it.

“It’s called force-magic.  I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of it, it went out of practice centuries ago.” Arleia tells them all.

“How do you know that?” Master Jinn asks, not the question she was expecting but she blows past that.

“She told me.” Arleia replies looking thoughtful as she thinks of her old mentor, she’d be nearly 4 months old now, man her life is insane.

“Who told you?” Master Windu asks.

“The one who taught me.”

“Tell us who taught you, you will.  Find her, we must.” The jerk of a Jedi demands.  She glares at him and feels her anger spiking.

“None of your god damned business you grumpy old troll!” Arleia replies fiercely.  She was beginning to feel threatened and cornered and nobody wants that.

“Padawan!” Master Windu calls in what she assumes is his ‘You will obey me’ voice which she has to admit is pretty good, she steps back when she realizes she had moved forward in her anger and reigns her temper in.

“My apologies Master, I will not answer the question however that may have been a little uncalled for.” Arleia says only sorry because of the uncontrolled outburst not the words she had spoken or who they were directed to.  It probably was not wise to piss off someone who seems important to the order before she’s even really a part of it, but she’d be damned if she was gonna start this off by allowing them to think she’ll be some kind of doormat for them to walk over.

“Perhaps we should cut this session short.  Master Jinn, if you and your padawan would mind redoing this tomorrow you may give your report then, in the mean time I believe we all would like some time process several things we have seen and I should get my Padawan settled in.” Master Windu suggests a tad desperately, wanting to get he and his padawan out before more damage can be done.

“I believe that may be wise, we shall reconvene at the same time tomorrow.” One of the council members say, Master Jinn and Xanatos both bow and leave the room though not before Xanatos glances at his Master’s back warily before looking to Arleia.

“Listen, acknowledge, explain, repeat.” Arleia reminds him, he nods and smiles gratefully before hurrying after his master.

“They’re arguing again, aren’t they?” The master that seemed to be friends with Master Windu asks her as Council members begin filing out of the chamber.

“I don’t know what you mean Master…?” She looks questioningly at him.

“Micah Giiett.” He says in answer to her unspoken question.

“Well Master Giiett, if they were arguing, perhaps it is a sign of bad communication.” Arleia suggests innocently.

“Perhaps it is, in which case your advice may be the key to a calmer partnership.” Master Giiett replies.

“Is it a partnership or a padawanship?” she asks making him chuckle.

“Please don’t give him ideas.” Master Windu requests as he comes to stand with them.

“Too late, it’s now a Padawanship and your student is the goddess of naming things.” Micah informs them with a smile, Arleia laughs a laugh that’s not quite a laugh but the closest laugh she’s laughed to a laugh in a long time.

“I give stupid names to everything, I’m sure all of you will have one soon enough, whether or not I use them aloud is the question.” She says with a smirk.

“Good luck with this one Mace.” Micah says smiling, “See you round Padawan Skywalker.  Good luck with your new Padawanship.” She bows respectfully to him before he walks off.

“Now why couldn’t you have been that respectful during the council meeting?” Master Windu asks patiently.

“Because, Master Giiett wasn’t being a total git.” Arlie replies calmly as the two begin to make their way out of the chamber, she doesn’t know where they are going but follows Mace.

“I don’t know what a git is but I’m going to assume you shouldn’t be calling Master Yoda one.”

“Ah, is that the trolls name.”

“Arleia.” Mace says in warning.

“I’m not going to show respect to someone who has done nothing to earn it.  I am civilized to people who have done nothing to earn disrespect as I did with Master Giiett, but this Master Yoda did nothing but look down on me from the moment I stepped into that room.  Why should I show him respect he did not show to me?”

“Because he is the grand master of the order and about 700 years your senior.” Master Windu says exasperatedly as he opens the door to what appears to be living quarters, she follows him inside after hesitating long enough that he went in first.

“I don’t bow down to people simply because they are in a position of power and have lived long enough to have screwed up a lot more than I have.” Arleia tells him angrily.

“I’m not asking you to bow down to him Padawan, all I ask is that you don’t call him names or show such blatant disrespect, especially during a council meeting.” Her master tells her after deciding that will be enough for now.

“All right, that’s fair.” She concedes.

They spend the rest of the day getting used to each other, showing Arleia around their quarters, doing her padawan braid and just generally preparing for the fact that they are going to drive each other up the wall.

The next day Arleia had her first council meeting as her Master’s Padawan and stood against the wall alone as no other council member currently had a padawan.  She and Xanatos kept attempting silent conversations and largely failing because they did not yet know each other well enough to read the subtle facial cues.  She could tell that he was tired though, not in the physical sense but mentally drained.  He didn’t even react when both their Masters glared unimpressed when they noticed what the two were doing.  Arleia was surprised to find herself marginally regretting her actions when faced with the disappointment on her Master’s face, that was unacceptable.  She did not know the man, instead of looking chagrined she simply smiled innocently at him making Master Windu even more irate.

That day they went to the training Salle to allow Master Windu to gauge her skills.  He handed her a lightsaber that appeared to be new.

“I built it for you last night after you went to bed.” He explained, she glanced wearily at it.  “What is wrong Padawan?” He asked concerned.

“‘Weapons are enemies even to their owners.’ It’s a quote from a movie but it’s served me well.” Arleia replied.

“What’s a movie?” Mace asked confused.  Arleia looked up as though asking the gods for help, not that she believed in any but that’s beside the point.

“I don’t even know what you would call them here.” She replied, she couldn’t remember seeing anything like a movie when she was a child, but it was a long time ago and she was a poor slave, she wouldn’t have been exposed to them even if they did exist.  Not like the pirates would have taken her to whatever equivalent there may be for a cinema.

“All right moving on from that, if we go on a mission and you need to fight how are you going to do that without a weapon.” He asked her, attempting to make her see reason.

“Master, I am the weapon.” At her master’s raised eyebrow, she decided a demonstration was in order, then she realized she wasn’t 17 anymore and would have to get re-used to her smaller body and lack of muscle.  “Give me fifteen minutes, then fight me.  If I win, you don’t make me use the lightsaber.  If you win, I learn without complaint.”  Arleia offers, she actually wasn’t sure if she could win this having no idea what his skill level was at.  But she had been training to defend herself against people stronger and bigger than her for a decade not to mention the training her mentor had given her in the in-between.  It wasn’t just force-magic her teacher had instructed her in but also to defend against people who fight much like the Jedi but aren’t actually Jedi.  Her mentor had offered no explanation apart from a threat she may one day face.

“All right Padawan, fifteen minutes.” Master Windu agreed, he took that time to warm up, she spent it doing the same with the specific intention of being accustomed to her body size again.

Fifteen minutes later they got ready to spar, Master Windu with a lightsaber, Arleia obviously without.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes Master.” Then the fight began, he moved to strike her with his lightsaber that she assumed had been altered in some way that it would not kill her.  She maneuvered herself out of its path with a twist that left her in the perfect position to kick it out of his hand, she used his moment of shock to deliver a swift uppercut to his jaw, she stuck her foot out as he stumbled back and combined it with an elbow to the stomach.  He fell down but attempted to knock her down with him by swinging his leg out at ankle height.  She jumped over it and moved, using her arms and legs she pinned him down.  Granted her winning the fight was mostly due to his complete surprise, very un-Jedi like if you asked her but that was hardly her business.

“I yield.” He told her, she released him and helping him up.  They heard clapping and turned to see a man Arleia had never seen before standing beside a silent Qui-Gon and Xanatos.

“Most impressive young Padawan, when my former padawan told me of Mace’s newest student I almost didn’t believe he went against protocol but now I see why.”  The man told her smiling in a way she couldn’t help but feel was predatory in nature.  Xanatos offered her a small smile while Qui-Gon just looked very impressed.

“How kind, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced, Padawan Skywalker.” Arleia told him as she bowed in respectful greeting.  She tried to replace her sudden fear of the man with some type of anger but for the first time in her life she could think of nothing to be angry about.  Instead she did her best to swallow what was sure to later become a panic attack, she just couldn’t let it be now.  Something about the man before her had her wanting to show no weakness.

“Master Dooku.”  He answered bowing as well.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance Master Dooku.”

“And yours as well Padawan Skywalker.  I came down here to assess my grand-padawan’s skills, would the two of you care to join us?”  He offered, a part of Arleia screamed no but a glance at Xanatos had her nodding to her Master’s silent question.  He seemed angry again, she would have to corner him and find out what had happened.

“We would like that Master Dooku, that is, if Master Jinn doesn’t object?”  Master Windu answers, Arleia couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Perhaps, given he is the one being assessed here, Xan should have an option about whether or not we sit in Master?”  Arleia said as she turned to face her Master, he looked a bit annoyed at the sass in the comment but felt he held little sway over it so soon after defeat.

“Of course, Padawan, a noble sentiment.”  Master Windu replied attempting to regain control, she nodded her assent to him letting him take the reins now that she had gotten her way.

“Xanatos?” Master Jinn asked looking at his Padawan who seemed floored by the concept of his opinion being taken into account.

“I have no objection Master.” Xanatos replied with a smile that, by the looks of Master Windu, had not been seen in a while.  And so they watched as Xanatos and Master Jinn sparred.  After the match, Master Dooku gave his observations to both student and teacher as did Master Windu.

“Why not have Miss Skywalker give you advice on listening to the force during a fight?”  Master Dooku suggested of Xanatos who looked uncomfortable.

“It’s Padawan Skywalker Master Dooku, and I don’t do that.”  Arleia told him unhappily.

“You mean to tell me you fought and brought down the head of the order without use of the force?” Master Dooku asked faking incredulousness.  Arlie couldn’t help but feel as though her Master, Xanatos, and herself should all be insulted by the last two things this man had said and so could feel herself becoming quite defensive but fought it off, for now.  She did not want to make an enemy of this man, nor would she allow him to act so condescending of her Master’s skills and that of her saviour.

“I rely on my instincts not the force.  Master Windu channels the force brilliantly but in that he becomes predictable to anyone who can do the same.  I could hear in the force what he was being guided to do and counter it by my own means instead of the force.  In some ways, I suppose the use of the force is a weakness.  But it’s something both my Master and Xan could learn to control instead of allowing themselves to be controlled.  They are not too set in their ways to learn differently.”  Arleia tells Dooku as kind as she could manage, he seemed to find her words amusing.

“You must have found the only force-sensitive in existence who hates the force.”  Master Dooku muses to Master Windu, Arleia narrows her eyes at him.

“It’s a good thing that Xanatos and Master Jinn had the sense to bring me here and place me in the care of my new Master who is well versed in the force and can train me then.  If it were not for your grand-padawan’s actions I would still be held captive by pirates.  You should be proud of him and the man who trained him.  I think myself fortunate to have met them and my master, however if you find yourself worrying about my perceived hatred of the force I offer you a chance to spar with me as well.”  Arleia tells him in the voice she uses when manipulating people, she rarely goes the subtle route and this time is no different, however she’s always had the ability to manipulate others even when they know they are being manipulated.

“I may one day take you up on that, but for now, I believe a recognition of my padawan and grand-padawan’s heroic actions is in order, would the two of you join us for dinner in the commissary tonight at 7th hour?”  Master Dooku offers knowing there is little he can say to refute that without seeming petty.

“I would be honoured Master Dooku, if my master agrees of course.” Arleia answers when her Master says nothing for a moment.

“But of course, Master Windu?”  Dooku replies turning to said Master who still seemed slightly dumbfounded by how things had played out, he recovered as a Jedi Master should though and bowed respectfully.

“We would be delighted.”

 

That was how they found themselves in the commissary with Master Dooku, Master Jinn and Xanatos, eating terrible food but having a surprisingly good time.

“I must say Padawan your vocabulary and general understanding of things is quite advanced for a seven-year-old who was raised by pirates.”  Master Dooku says to her during the meal.  She looks at him like he’s grown a second head.

“I wasn’t raised by pirates Master Dooku.” She says as she begins laughing, “I suppose I’ve not given anyone any reason to think otherwise though have I?  In truth, I was only on that ship for…I would guess about a month, I wasn’t exactly given a clock.” Arleia continues still laughing, they chuckle for a moment earning them interesting baffled looks from the other Jedi present.

“What’s a clock?” Xanatos asks politely.  She thinks for a moment and looks around before spotting her target.

“That, why, what do you call it here?” She says as she points to the time telling device on the wall of the commissary.

“A chrono.”  Master Windu replies, “I’d still like to know what a move is.”

“I think you mean movie, and it’s like a photo but it moves and talks.” She explains badly, they look confused.

“And a photo is?” Xanatos questions, she sighs, she really needed to do some research, it was frustrating how little she remembered of her universe, but the last time she was truly a part of it had been so long ago, and so many things had happened since, she hadn’t thought on it for just as long.

“Um, like a picture but taken with a device and it’s of real life?  I have no idea what the equivalent would be here.” Arleia admits frustratedly.

“A holo?  Like this?” Master Windu asks pulling out a small device and activating it to bring up a photo, or holo, of a young-looking Master Windu, a man who looks a bit like him though older and significantly paler, and three young children that appeared to be the other man’s kids.

“Yeah that’s kind of like a photo except you know, a hologram.  Technology is quite a bit more advanced here, instead of through a device like that, a photograph would have been printed on paper or shown through the camera that took it.  Or another device, it’s complicated.”

“Did you say paper?  Gods child, where are you from that you encounter such things as commonplace?” Master Jinn asks bewildered.

“A place far from here.” Arleia said half-heartedly as her mood drops considerably.

“Well, it fills me with pride that my padawan and padawan of my padawan were able to rescue you and bring you here my dear.”  Master Dooku says with a smile, she still got a funny feeling from him but couldn’t help warming up to the man.  She hopes the feeling is because he is just as standoffish as she knows she is.

A little while later the commissary was clear apart from their small group.  The Masters were engaged in a heated debate that Xanatos and Arleia had left in favour of standing by the window as Xanatos pointed out the places he could see.

“Arleia, I just wanted to say thank you for what you said to my grand-master.  He’s been kinder to me and Master Qui-Gon than I’ve ever experienced and it is a nice feeling to have him be proud of me.” Xanatos tells her quietly after making sure the others were not paying them any mind.

“Xan you saved my life, rescued me from pirates, I simply felt that you deserved recognition for that and he seemed disinclined to give it to you.  Besides I couldn’t help but notice you and your master were butting heads again and you needed a break from that.”

“That obvious?” She nods gravely but with a supportive smile.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Much as I appreciate it Arleia, I’m hesitant to drop all my troubles onto the shoulders of a seven-year-old with more than enough on her plate already.”  Xanatos brought her in and so can’t help but feel partially responsible for her. Likewise, she feels she owes him for bringing her in and wants to help him.

“Call me Arlie,” She says, glad her Mentor is not here to look smug at her words, “and listen.  I have had pressure and bad circumstances like you wouldn’t believe forced upon me from the day of my birth.  I must deal with them on my own because there is nothing anyone can do to make it better, I don’t want you to deal with that when I am right here to support you.  Please let me help.” Xanatos seems to debate her words for a moment before giving in, shoulders slumping as he begins to explain.

“He just doesn’t listen to me, I’m ready for the trials, I’m 18 years old, but he refuses to see past mistakes I made years ago. He won’t trust me or my judgement, I’m just some stupid Padawan. Doesn’t help that my brother Padawan is some blasted genius.”

“Okay wait, what trials? What brother padawan? I thought you were Master Jinn’s only padawan.”

“Masters can only have one Padawan at a time Arlie.”

“That seems really inefficient but anyway, I suppose your brother padawan is your Master’s previous Padawan then?”

“You catch on quick.” Arleia falters for a moment feeling the loss of her mentor greatly in that moment as she recognizes the words spoken to her long ago.

“So I’ve been told, the trials?”

“The trials are a kind of test that you take in order to progress from Padawan and enter your knighthood.”

“Okay and you feel you’re ready for this but your master doesn’t?”

“Yes, and all because of…”

“His previous Padawan.  Okay so time for some harsh truths.  What I’m getting from this is that you felt threatened by taking the place of someone you have clearly looked up to. You’ve spent so long comparing yourself to your brother padawan that you feel your Master is doing so as well.  I think what’s likely happened is that in trying to be like this person you’ve sabotaged your own efforts to be better.  Your Master knows you could achieve more but you are holding yourself back and he doesn’t know why.  You aren’t your master’s former student Xan, you are your own person and you will make a wonderful Jedi in your own way.  What is your brother Padawan’s name?”  Xanatos looks confused yet thoughtful and a touch vulnerable.

“Feemor.”

“Well the order already has a Knight Feemor, it doesn’t need another.  Perhaps what it needs is a Knight Xanatos, something it can’t get if you try to be something you are not, my saviour.”  Xanatos blushes a little at the name but smiles at her.

“I think you may be right.” He says, she smiles at him.

“You’ll soon come to learn, I’m always right.” He chuckles at her words.

“And oh so modest as well.” He replies, they both laugh. “Also, it will be Knight Du Crion.” She raises an eyebrow in question, “My name is Xanatos Du Crion.” She smiles at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

“Sounds fancy.” She replies simply, he laughs.


	3. A Haunted Sentence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble in Paradise?

It’s been five weeks since Arleia arrived on Coruscant and joined the Jedi.  In that time, she has grown relatively close to Master Jinn and Xanatos, surprisingly Dooku as well.  Master Windu still struggles to understand his Padawan as she struggles to make him understand her.  It’s just such a time as they enter their living quarters arguing after an attempted meditation session, she still hasn’t let him guide her enough to actually succeed.

“I just don’t understand why you fight me so much on this!” He says not quite yelling but by no means quiet either.

“I don’t like handing over the reins to my mind and just dropping my defences to other people!” She replies angrily, he turns back to her, neither noticing the door still open.

“I’m your Master Arleia, that’s what you’re supposed to do!  You are supposed to trust me enough to let me teach you this, but you won’t let me teach you anything!” He says yelling now.

“Well it takes a long time to earn my trust Master and I don’t know that you have it in you.” She replies shortly but just as loudly.

“I don’t have it in me to earn your trust? Or do you not have it in you to give me the chance?!” He yells, she draws back shocked, he looks just as surprised by his words.  He begins what she is sure is an attempt to take them back when she just looks so heartbroken he stops breathing.

“Maybe you’re right.” She says before pulling herself together, masking her expression as blankly as she dares though already marred by the anger she creates in herself.  “But either way, it does not change the result Master.”  She then begins to stalk away to her room when he calls to her.

“I guess it’s a good thing I can be just as stubborn as you.” He says before walking into his own room.  Noticing the open door Arleia uses the force to close it.  “That’s frivolous use of the force Arlie.” Master Windu calls from behind his closed door, but this time his words are filled with warmth and familiarity, it’s an olive branch and one she finds herself happy to accept.

“Tell someone who cares Master.” She calls back kindly as she goes to her room.

 

The next morning she wakes up to overwhelming light and sound, the feel of her bed and blankets equally as overwhelming and an intense screaming in her head that she knows isn’t real but breaks down her defences in seconds nevertheless.  Mere moments after she’s woken up she’s curled in on herself wishing it would stop, that everything would stop and why does this keep happening to her and it’s not fair, it’s not real it’s not real, please please stop.

“Arlie?” Master Windu calls from outside her door.

“M-Master.” She tries to say but it comes out as a whispery whimper, she’s too far gone to care.  He immediately opens her door and comes to her.

“Oh Padawan.” He says as he takes in her tear streaked face and wildly panicked eyes.  “Can I touch you?” He asks, she nods hesitantly.  He climbs onto the bed and lays next to her, barely enough room as he pulls her close and holds her.

She eventually calms down a bit but knows better than to attempt to do anything, so they lay there in silence as she basks in the comfort her Master offers her so freely with no explanation.

She’s woken by an incessant beeping as she realizes she must have fallen asleep, it’s still light out but it now appears to be about mid-day.

“Windu.” Her Master says quietly beside her into his comm, probably trying not to wake her.

“Mace, we had a council meeting today, it was supposed to start 10 minutes ago, where are you?” Micah asks worriedly, this was very un-Mace-like behaviour.

“Sorry Micah, I completely forgot.  I can’t be there though, I’m rather unwell.” He says lying through his teeth, an action that confuses Arlie, was he covering for her?

“Enough to miss a meeting?  Mace are you dying?  No, you’d still be here, oh my gods, you’re already dead, aren’t you?!” Micah says as though he’d discovered something scandalous.  Mace rolls his eyes as he sighs loudly.

“I’m not dead you idiot, I’m ill, now bugger off.” He replies grouchily as he shuts off the comm.

“Thank you Master.” Arlie says in a quiet voice.

“Whatever you need Padawan, I’m here.” Mace replies glancing down at her, in that moment she broke one of her most sacred rules, faced with the almost fatherly love in his eyes, all for her, she realized she trusted him.  Just as she had once trusted her Mentor.

“No questions asked?” She asks knowing she is not going to be able to give any explanation without having a full blown panic attack.

“No questions asked.” He confirms, she snuggles into his side and he pulls her close.

 

The next morning Mace woke up in his Padawan’s bed alone. He ventured out into the kitchen and found his padawan sitting at the kitchen bench, two mugs of tea in front of her as she stars out into space in an eerily blank way.

“Arleia?” He calls to her gently. She slowly comes back to the room and smiles shakily at him.

“Good morning Master, I made you some tea to say sorry for being a colossal asshole. An-And also to say thank you, for, you know, yesterday.” She says a touch too quietly for her to be as okay as she seems to be trying to project.  Baby steps, he thinks to himself.

“Thank you Padawan, but you don’t ever have to thank me for that.  And you haven’t been a colossal ass, except maybe to Yoda, just a bit of an ass to everyone else.” He says with a chuckle hoping to lighten the mood, he knows it’s worked when she chuckles too.

“Just a bit huh?”  She says, he smiles and hold his hand up with his thumb and forefinger separated by only a small amount, they both laugh. His comm begins to chime much like yesterday, she decides she hates the noise.

“Windu.” He says as he opens it already sighing.

“Mace, any chance you’re feeling better? Or well enough to be present for a padawan naming ceremony?” Micah asks, Mace narrows his eyes at the comm, he isn’t needed for that, there has to be some reason he’s being specifically asked for.

“Depends, who for?” Mace asks suspiciously.

“Me, Mace, I’m taking a Padawan.  Met him yesterday, he accidentally blew a hole in the side of the crèche with the force.” His friend tells him, Mace and Arlie exchange impressed looks.

“How did I not hear about that?” He asks, He’s glad no one comm’d him yesterday, his padawan had needed him. It just sounded like the type of thing they’d tell him anyway.

“Well, if you’re not well enough to do a simple council meeting I figured you shouldn’t be dealing with that, and given that no one was hurt it wasn’t necessary.”

“Thanks Mic.” Mace says recognising that his friend knew something else was going on and so had run interference for him, Arlie smiles slightly as she notices the same thing.

“So, about my ceremony?” Micah asks hope filling his voice, Mace glances to his padawan who is nodding enthusiastically though seeming a tad hesitant.

“I’ll be there, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to stick around for long afterwards.” Mace decides, Arlie smiles shyly at him.

“Sounds good, see you in an hour.” The comm shut down.

“Oh, how lovely, an hour.” Mace says dryly, “Padawan if you wish to remain here you may, I will be as quick as I can.” He says his voice once again filled with warmth.

“Master, if I can, I’d prefer to go with you.” Arleia replies unsurely.

“I think Micah would like that.  Plus, whoever his new Padawan is will be the only other council padawan, means you won’t be alone.  However, if the two of you attempt to communicate during a council meeting, at the very least please be more subtle than you are with Xan.”

“Yes Master.” She replies cheekily.

 

An hour later they walk into the council chamber, Arlie moves to her spot on the wall after a look of encouragement from her Master. They were beginning to be able to send feelings and thoughts through their bond though they could not yet speak through it, still her master sent her feelings of safety to which she replied with gratitude. A moment later Master Giiett entered with a boy who looked to be about 13 years old.

The ceremony is over in about five minutes and Arlie immediately moves back to her Master’s side. She is feeling better than earlier and the amount of people is not yet overwhelming so she suggests to her Master that they congratulate them both and meet the kid.

“He’s older than you are Padawan.”

“If I can beat him in a fight he’s a kid.”

“Does that mean you view me as a child?” This is, of course, the first thing the other Masters hear as they move into the throng of the group, not that either of them notice.

“Okay, so it doesn’t always work but to be fair when you lose a fight to your unarmed seven-year-old padawan on her second day in the order when she isn’t using the force you all seem to love so much, said padawan earns the right to be condescending for at least a few weeks. I have a whole day more before I have to beat you again to maintain bragging rights.” Arlie informs him.

“Oh is that so is it? Best put it in the calendar then, I have a reputation to maintain you know.”

“I think that went down the toilet when you lost to begin with Mace.” Micah says smiling happily at the sight of the two getting along. “Glad to see you’re feeling better my friend.”

“Thank you Micah, now who’s this new Padawan of yours?”

“Mace Windu, this is Garen Muln.”

“Master Windu.” Garen says bowing respectfully.

“Padawan Muln, it’s nice to meet a young padawan capable of showing respect.” Arlie rolls her eyes at her Master.

“Sorry about him fellow Padawan, my Master can be as sassy as an adolescent girl sometimes, if not more so.” Arlie says as she greets the new padawan whose eyes go wide at the disrespect.

“Well, she’s got you figured out Mace.” Micah says laughing and sharing a look with Qui-Gon who Arlie had not noticed standing by, she bows to him and he inclines his head in acknowledgement.

“Well this apprenticeship would be most boring if I didn’t occasionally stoop down to your level.” Mace replies with a satisfied grin when she scowls at him. Micah clears his throat expectantly, “I’m not calling it that Mic.”

“I thought it was called a padawanship?” Garen asked confused and not at all shy about now being the centre of attention.

“Well, with Micah as your Master I can see why.” Mace says looking very put out, Micah bursts out laughing.

“I didn’t tell him that.” Micah says, Arlie laughs at the unhappy looks on her Master’s face.

“I heard it being called that by the other initiates, and some knights and masters.” Garen told them confused by the reaction.

“It’s only been a few weeks!” Mace says incredulously as Arlie gains the most smug grin imaginable.

“Okay, well celebration dinner tonight in my quarters and seeing as our dear young Skywalker didn’t get one, perhaps we should make it a joint affair? That is, if you’re feeling up to it my perfectly healthy looking friend?” Micah asks looking at Mace expectantly. Mace looks to Arlie as subtly as possible, she sends feelings of excitement through the bond with little to no apprehension, satisfied with the answer Mace accepts the offer and plans are made to be around there at 6th hour. “Since it’s yours as well, invite whoever you like.  We’ll just be having a few initiate friends of Garen’s, Tahl, Qui-Gon and Xan.”

“See you then.” Mace says quickly as he leads his paling padawan out of the room in a concerned rush.  His behaviour seems weird he knows but he doesn’t think anyone noticed his padawan. Once safely back in their quarters and with a cup of tea each, they sit in front of the couch quietly.

“Sorry, it just got a bit much rather suddenly.” Arleia says quietly as she holds her tea and leans into her Master’s side.

“It’s quite all right padawan, we don’t have to go tonight if you don’t wish to.”

“NO! I do want to, and I want you to. Besides, Xan is leaving for a mission in a few days and I wanted to spend time with him anyway, I’m a bit concerned.” Arlie says with a frown.

“Why are you concerned? It was my understanding that he and Qui-Gon were getting along more, in fact Qui said just yesterday that if things kept improving as they are he’d recommend Xanatos for knighting in a month. Not that you heard that from me and you are not to tell Xanatos under any circumstances.”

“Well that’s fantastic! But it’s not that. Though I am glad Xan actually listened to me, anyway it’s not something I’ve mentioned because I wasn’t putting too much stock in it, it being purely from the force. But then my own instincts started kicking in about it. I noticed it about two weeks ago, then a few days ago it started worrying me.” Arlie says looking into her mug as though it held the answers to all her questions. Looking at his padawan he became extremely worried, she looked like a scared seven-year-old, not the mature adolescent he’d learned to see and treat her as.

“What is it Arlie?”

“He feels cold.  I don’t mean his actions or anything, I mean his presence in the force feels colder than it did.  I spent a decade with no force in anything save for me, believe me, everything feels warm. But he doesn’t. The only other time I’ve felt that is with Master Dooku which is why I wasn’t worried though I tracked the change carefully. Then he was angry at something a few days ago, I don’t even remember what, but I actually felt unsafe, just for a moment.” Mace begins growing worried from her description, it is something that has worried the council about Dooku greatly but they too had put it aside when nothing happened.  Whatever it was is affecting his padawan and he would find out, he’ll do his best to help Xan too, not only for his padawan but his friend too.  Qui-Gon would never forgive him if he said nothing.

“I’ll talk to Qui-Gon about it, see if he’s noticed anything.  Perhaps you should speak to Xanatos and see if he tells you anything that may shed some light on this.” Mace suggests, he won’t go to the council, they wouldn’t trust the word of his padawan anyway and as he had not sensed anything from the young man there would be no point.  He trusts his padawan though, and Xanatos was more open around her than anyone, if something were up, she’d be the one to notice. “Now is there anyone you’d like to invite to the dinner tonight?”

“Master I have no friends.” Arlie says not in complaint, if anything she seems happy with the notion, it concerns Mace but only marginally, he imagines the initiates her age would drive her insane and she’d corrupt them anyway.  Besides she isn’t alone, she gets along well with Xan and Qui-Gon, even Dooku which had surprised everyone.

“You could always invite Yoda?” He suggests, they stare intently at each other for a full minute before laughing themselves to tears.

 

That night they head to Micah’s quarters and arrive exactly at 6th hour, his padawan refused to be anything but exactly on time.

“Master Windu, Padawan Skywalker, thank you for coming.” Padawan Muln says as he answers the door, tradition for the new padawan is to greet the guests of his welcome celebration.

“Pleasure to see you again Padawan Muln.” Master Windu says as Garen leads them in.

“Mace, Skyrunner glad you made it.” Micah says coming out and hugging Mace before surprising her by hugging Arlie too.  She glares daggers at him for the name but otherwise remains silent, he smiles kindly at her. “Okay, Padawans, take the trays of snacks out to the coffee table please while Mace and I get drinks and glasses and yes Mace, they are non-alcoholic. I can be responsible you know.” Both present padawans scoff at that comment, “Maaaaace they’re ganging up on meee!” Micah wines like a two-year-old.

“Come on Micah, you can brave the evil padawans.” Mace says laughingly as they headed into the kitchen.  Garen and Arlie grab the trays and put them on the coffee table as the two Masters attempt to track down glasses in the mess of the kitchen.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying Skywalker, your Master is surprisingly kind. He seems really cold and intimidating from the crèche, you know?” Garen says nervously when it’s just the two of them.

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been down there.  But I’ve seen how he acts in public, intentionally cold.  It’s his way of showing his authority and it works.  He saves his kindness for those who won’t use it against him. Also, it’s Arlie.” Arleia says not particularly liking when people address her by her last name. A part of her was gearing up for when there were two Skywalkers in the temple.

“Then it’s Garen.  You aren’t like other kids your age.” Garen comments regarding her with a watchful eye.

“I’m far more interesting than that I promise you.” Arlie says making them both laugh.  They were discussing sparring techniques when the Masters entered.

“You can do that?!” Garen asks in excitement.

“Do what?” Micah asks sitting down on the floor next to his padawan as Mace sits on the couch above his padawan’s position on the floor.

“Make the force tell you what someone else is going to do in a fight.” Garen explains, Micah sighs a little.

“You can’t make the force do something Garen, you listen to it and it will tell you.” Micah says to his listening padawan, Arlie snorts at that, Mace drops his face into his hands knowing they were about to be treated to one of his Padawan’s famous anti-force rants.

“Oh please, you can listen to the force and it’ll guide you sure, but sometimes you have to make the force listen to you.” Arlie says confidently.

“My apologies Garen, my padawan has a habit of thinking she, a Jedi of five weeks, knows more about the force than all Jedi Masters.” Mace says glaring at Arlie who glares right back.

“No, of course not, it’s not like I beat you in a fight while unarmed, not like I can use the force in a way none of you had even heard of.  Tell you what, if you can make it rain inside and then dry everything and everyone with a few hand movements, I’ll start listening to you.  Because when I do that, it’s not because the force tells me to, it’s the force bending to my will as it does to all force-sensitives every time they use it.  You tell it to tell you where to aim your next strike or to guide you when you’re lost. Whenever you levitate things and such, it’s you using the force not the force using you.”

“And having such a powerful thing bend to your will makes you feel like a god doesn’t it.” Master Windu says through clenched teeth, she looks at him horrified.

“No Master, because the minute I start feeling like a god I become the devil.”  Arleia replies.  Everything is awkwardly quiet for a time.

“Did you actually make it rain indoors?” Garen asks in an effort to break the silence.

“She did, first time she came to the temple, fresh off the pirate ship and it’s raining in the council chamber.” Micah says as they all laugh.

“So, it’s true Arlie? Everyone in the crèche is talking about Master Windu’s Padawan being raised by pirates.” Garen asks innocently, Arlie just groans.

“I was not raised by pirates! Pirates kidnapped me. I’m not even old enough to have been raised by anyone!” Arlie says frustratedly making Mace and Micah laugh at her. “Gee thanks you two, real great role models.” She tells them dryly.  A few minutes later the door chimes, Micah tells Arlie and Garen to go open the door together because the celebration is for them both, when they open the door Qui-Gon and Xanatos are on the other side along with a woman Arlie is yet to me.

“Master Jinn, Master Tahl, Padawan Xanatos.” Garen greeted politely.

“Master Qui-Gon, Master Tahl.” Arlie says getting the name of the stranger from Garen, said stranger smiles kindly at her.

“You must be Mace’s new padawan, Arleia Skywalker yes?” Master Tahl questions.

“Yes Master.” Arlie replies.

“You are a great deal more respectful than I was expecting given the stories I’ve heard.” Tahl tells her, she blushes slightly, “You’ve gained quite a reputation.”

“I’m aware Master.” Arlie and Garen lead the guests into the small living area that Mace and Micah were currently arguing in.

“… makes sense Mace, you do kind of tell it what to do.” Micah says quietly to him, neither Jedi noticing they had company.

“No Micah, we listen to the will of the force not bend it to our own.” Mace replies.

“All I’m saying is that it’s debateable.”

“Wipe that smug grin off your face Padawan.” Master Windu says when he looks up and notices them all.

“Not a chance Master.” She replies.  They all move to sit down, Xanatos sits on one side of her and Garen on the other.

“Can’t help but notice I never got my greeting Arlie, rude.” Xanatos tells her in jest.

“Hello Saviour.” Arlie says hugging him, he hugs her back. “Garen, this is Xanatos, Xan this is Garen Muln.”

“Pleasure.”

“Likewise.”

“Awkward.” Arlie says under her breath after the short exchange.  Five minutes later the initiates turned up with one of the instructors who apologized for the lateness but two of them had decided a mud war was in order and had to shower.

“Arlie, these are my best friends Bant Eerin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Bellan and Reeft. Guys this is Arleia Skywalker and that’s her friend Padawan Xanatos.” Garen introduces after all the proper greetings from everyone present.  Xanatos and the other initiates were polite and seemed fine, it was only between Garen and Xanatos that there seemed to be a problem.

“Nice to meet you all.” Arlie says kindly.

“Padawan.” Mace called behind her.

“Yes Master?” Arlie replies questioningly as she turns to face him, when she turned all the Master’s seem to nod as they look at her as if just noticing something.

“Padawan, I was just wondering what your heritage was that gave you such beautiful purple eyes. Your Master seemed to think it had little to do with heritage and more to do with your use of the force.” Master Tahl asks her.

“Indeed it does, though I do not know my heritage anyway.” Arlie replies.

“Because you were raised by pirates?” Kenobi asks making Arlie sigh in frustration.

“I was not raised by pirates, I was kidnapped by them.”

“Doesn’t necessarily mean you weren’t raised by them, it would depend on when you were kidnapped.” Bant says, “Also it would depend on what constitutes raising someone and how long you believe they had to be in the care of that person for it to be counted as raising.” She continues, Tahl looks impressed with her assessment.

“Believe me they did anything but care for me. And I only lived with them for a month.” Arlie informs them her voice portraying her annoyance perfectly. Garen and Xan both moved to grab her hand at the same time, luckily a different hand, to support her.

“Where were you before that?” Micah asks at the same time Tahl asks “What colour were your eyes before?”

“In another place I didn’t belong. And brown.  It isn’t so much from using force-magic as it is channelling it entirely through the force in oneself instead of in other things.”

“Then why do that?” Master Jinn asks curiously, she sighs knowing they won’t be able to go back to enjoying themselves until everyone’s curiosity was sated.

“Because there was no force in anything else.”

“The force is in all things.” Master Tahl reminds her.

“Well sure it is here.” Arlie replies.

“You said earlier that you once spent ten years in a place without the force, how could that be so? You are not yet ten years old.” Master Windu asks, she glares at him feeling a bit betrayed that he brought that up instead of asking her about it in private.

“Well then I guess I’m just a stupid padawan that doesn’t know what she’s talking about.  I was raised by pirates, maybe I’m crazy.” Arleia says angrily before storming out onto the balcony and leaning against the wall after shutting the door, the night air was cool and smelled of fuel.  She heard the door open and close behind her before her saviour comes and leans on the railing in front of her.

“You enjoy making a spectacle of yourself to people you’ve just met don’t you.” Xan says to her, she sputters out a laugh as she moves to join him at the railing.

“I don’t enjoy it, people here have a habit of poking their nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

“Has it occurred to you that that may be out of care or concern?”  She falters long enough to answer his question for him. “Gods Arlie, what happened to you that made you so distrusting of people?”

“Life Xanatos, life happened.”

“You’re seven.”

“And isn’t that a wonderful feeling, people saying ‘you’ve got your whole life ahead of you’, well that’s just great, I have more suffering to deal with.” Xanatos blows out a breath of air.

“That’s a rather pessimistic view of things.”

“Life is pain Xanatos, anyone who says differently is lying to you.”

“Arleia turn around, look inside.” Arlie does as he says, everyone is sitting inside having a good time though her Master occasionally glances out to check on her, the sight leaves tears in her eyes.  “Do they look to be in pain to you?” She takes a moment to calm herself looking out over the balcony, the sight not being nearly as beautiful as the happiness she had just witnessed.

“My saviour, as per usual.” She says giving him a small smile, his eyes harden.

“I’m nobody’s saviour Arlie.” He says coldly before going inside leaving a bewildered girl behind, seeing her face Garen comes out to see her.

“Hey are you okay? What did he say to you?” Garen asks immediately pulling her into a hug, she watches over his shoulder as Xanatos walks out of the living quarters, she imagines that if it were like doors on Earth, he’d be slamming the door behind him.

“Nothing, I’m fine Garen, thanks.  How about we re-join the party yeah?” Arlie suggests, Garen nods glad his friend is happy again.

“Do you know where my Padawan went?” Master Qui-Gon asks when the two are sent to get more glasses from the kitchen.

“No idea Master, he wasn’t in a great mood but I got the impression he wanted to be alone, so hopefully he just went home.” Arleia replies. Master Jinn looks thoughtful for a moment.

“He seems rather fond of you, I was hoping you may have some insight.  He’s been off lately.  He and I were getting along, fighting less. He was listening to me and learning more than ever before, things were just working and I couldn’t have been more proud.  Now he’s shutting me out again.” Qui-Gon tells her his voice full of concern.

“Well I’m sorry to say but he seems to be shutting me out too.  He told me last week he was getting weird dreams about his father, maybe that has something to do with it, he does look quite tired.  Perhaps the dreams turned into nightmares and he hasn’t been sleeping. Could explain some other things as well.” Arlie tells him, Qui nods.

“Yes, your Master told me about that, I want you to know that I am taking what you said very seriously, I was watching for a change in his force signature tonight, it seemed off somehow when he stormed out but before that nothing. I will keep an eye on it though, and if you hear anything else please do tell me or get Mace to.” She nods to him as they walk back to the living area. Arlie smiles at her Master when he looks at her in concern.

They spend another hour there before the screaming hits Arlie again, she’s practiced enough that she gives nothing away but some of her panic must have gotten through the bond because her Master looks to her, one look at her had him apologizing to the others for having to leave but he suddenly wasn’t feeling well again. None of the Master’s present believed him but they didn’t call him out on it, only giving well wishes and promises of future sparring matches.

Garen and Micah both hugged Arlie goodbye as did Master Qui-Gon, she tried hard not to flinch every time, once the door was closed she slid down the wall in the hallway trying to calm her breathing from near hyperventilation.

“Can I touch you padawan mine?” Mace asks patiently, she gives a shaky nod, he lifts her into his arms and holds her close. He carries her all the way home before taking her into his room and laying her down. He takes off her shoes and his own before moving to hold his padawan close again and run his fingers through her hair.

He doesn’t know what’s wrong with his padawan, but until whatever it is has passed he’s not going to chance asking her. He realized the day before how attached he had become to her in such a short amount of time, could not help but think of her as a daughter despite being totally mystified by so much of her.  He knew nothing of her past or her previous teacher. Nothing of her home nor her kin, still he trusted her.  Something had happened yesterday and he was beginning to think she may learn to trust him after all.  Yet she knew nothing of him either, it astounded him that he had asked her to work on blind faith, trust him while knowing nothing about him, something he was never willing to do.  Perhaps that was something they could work on in the coming weeks, but not tomorrow, tomorrow was too soon.  He would have to work out several things first, like her tale will be difficult for her, his will be equally as difficult for him for neither had had an easy life, perhaps though, it was time to let her know that too.

 

Arlie was once again herself when she went to the hanger bay to see off Xanatos and Master Jinn, she actually beat the two of them to the ship.

“Arlie!” Xan called as he jogged over, his master giving a fond shake of his head at the action.

“Hey Xan.” She says when he gets close enough to hear her speaking at a normal volume, “And Hello Master Qui-Gon.” Arlie says over Xan’s shoulder as he lifts her to hug her.

“Good morning Arleia, we weren’t expecting you.” Jinn told her with a smile and a one armed hug when she was released from Xanatos.

“It was meant to be a surprise, Master Windu was planning to be here too but there was an unexpected council meeting that he said he would stall long enough for me to get there after you leave.  It’s Garen’s first as a council padawan so I can’t miss it all together but I wanted to say goodbye.” She explains not missing Xan’s scowl at Garen’s name, she rolls her eyes at him.  It had been three days, they had seen each other a handful of times because the three were spending a lot of time together.  Surprisingly not often in her quarters, the boys invited the other to things but it seemed to be for her benefit alone.  They were civil but clearly did not get along.  “Anyway, he told me to wish you both luck and Xan, he said be strong and trust in the force, said it was important you were reminded for this mission, I don’t know why but by the look on your faces you do.”

“The mission is on my homeworld.” Xanatos explains, she winces and darts forward to hug him again.

“I didn’t know.  I’ll keep the comm clear so call if you need anything.” She tells him. He smiles at her as does Master Jinn when she offers him the same.

“We must leave now as must you, goodbye Arleia.” Master Jinn says to her.

“Good bye Master Qui-Gon, see you soon.” Arlie replies, Master Jinn then walks onto the ship.

“I’ll see you in a few days Arlie.” Xan says as he walks onto the ship, pausing at the top of the ramp to wave, she waves back.

“Goodbye my saviour.” She says wondering at the finality of the statement.  His smile falls as does hers when they lock eyes and know the other felt it too.

Shaking off the weird feeling she rushes at full speed to the council chamber slipping inside and shutting the door behind her.

“Well, what are you waiting for, wasn’t this thing supposed to start fifteen minutes ago?” Arlie asks as she walks to her point, Master Windu drops his head into his hands again but she could feel his smile, Micah meanwhile was biting back a laugh.  Yoda looked extremely unimpressed, she just glared at him before smiling encouragingly to Garen who seemed a bit nervous to be there.  The session was rather boring, a minor spat between Yoda and Arlie when he made an underhanded comment about disrespectful padawans.

“They must be learning it from you.” She had mumbled earning her a glare from both her Master and the troll, she smiled innocently and his ear had twitched in irritation.

Later that night while eating dinner her Master confronted her about it.

“Why do you hate Yoda so much?”  Mace asks the question born out of pure curiosity, he’d sort of just accepted it wasn’t going to change and the troll did little to help matters anyway.

“I don’t like people who attempt to manipulate other people’s lives, even their friends.” Arlie tells him while eating the food she didn’t even taste.  Left over habit from years as a slave eating whatever you could afford.

“Most of the time he does it because he believes it’s the right thing to do.” Master Windu tells her being a little surprised to get an answer out of her that isn’t ‘Because he’s an ass.’

“And that’s the problem.  The more often you do something the easier it gets to do it the next time.  He’s gone past the point of not being able to stop yourself and is well aware of the damage his meddling can cause.  He believes his actions are to help others, if he’s willing to manipulate his own friends to ‘help them’ what may he be capable of doing to strangers in an attempt to help them.  I’ve seen that happen Master, I’ve lived both ends of that spectrum. He’s made the mistake of thinking his ability to do this so easily makes him better than those it works on, that’s why I’m an ass to him and why I will not give even a little.  I won’t allow him to think he is above me because of the crap he pulls on others.”

“I don’t agree with you but you aren’t being illogical though a tad irrational maybe, and I have no evidence to the contrary so I’ll leave it be.  That changes and we’ll have this discussion again.” Mace replies after a few moments thought, this was why she loves her Master.  Best Master in the universe if you ask her.  Arlie really wishes he could meet her Mentor, thinks they’d get along well.  Maybe, she thinks, they will one day.

 

The next night Mace wakes Arlie in the middle of the night because they must attend an emergency council meeting that was called mere moments ago. They rush to get dressed and hurry down to the chamber.  A few minutes after they got there, during which everyone was speculating on the reason this meeting was called, Micah had told them Master Jinn had requested it immediately upon his return, Arlie thought of the moment she shared with Xan as they left and found herself feeling sick with worry, Master Jinn walked into the council chamber.

He said one sentence that changed everything, no introduction, no greeting, a simple sentence that was forever etched into her mind.  It would be the first thing she thought of every morning and the last thing she thought of every night for a long time to come.

“Xanatos has fallen.”

 


	4. A Moment Of Clarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arleia and the others cope with Xan's betrayal.

 

You could have heard a pin drop in that moment, then the chamber was filled with noise but Master Jinn had yet to look anywhere but the wall directly in front of him, behind the council member’s heads.

His eyes were red rimmed and bloodshot, his pants leg covered in blood and his nose broken, he had not bothered with force-healing.  He looked as though he had not slept in weeks.  The council members were all talking over each other asking questions, denying things and in general stuck in their horror until over everything they heard Garen whisper one word.

“Arlie?” Suddenly Master Gallia was openly weeping, Micah had his padawan come and sit on his lap as he glanced worriedly at Arlie, her own Master looked at her openly horrified and worried.  She smiled at him.

“Master Jinn, perhaps you should brief the council on the events of your mission and what led to this horrifying conclusion.” Arleia says in total calmness, she supposes that worried everyone more than if she had broken down.

“His father was killed in front of him.” Master Qui-Gon told them, he spoke of the entire mission in a cold and totally shut off tone before he was ordered to the healers, he refused to meet her eye.

She knew it in that moment, the dreams he had been having of his father had progressed to nightmares of his death.  It was his pre-science, a thing he had told her of after a week of being there, and she had done nothing.  That coldness she had felt had been the beginnings of his detachment to the force, and she had done nothing.  He was finally pushed over the edge by his father being murdered, and she had done nothing.  She had seen this coming, her instincts had warned her of danger and she. Had. Done. NOTHING!

Her master came to stand in front of her, kneeling down to be eye level.

“Padawan?” he asks, in his eyes she could see his own heart break, she was not alone.

“What’s going to happen to him?” She asks, Xanatos and Garen had explained the difference between the light and the dark just a day after the celebration.

“Carry out protocol, we must. A friend he may have been, but no difference does it make, once darkened he is.”  Yoda speaks, Mace winces knowing it was possibly the worst thing that could have been said.

“How can you claim to ‘follow the will of the force’ and trust in it when you hate and fear half of its existence? And don’t pretend otherwise because that’s exactly what’s happened here.  There is no light and dark side of the force masters, I learnt a long time ago that everyone is capable of doing good and bad things given the right circumstances and you’re telling me that my friend, the man who saved my life, is being put to death because a bunch of old people are yet to learn that?  YOU ALL KNOW HIM! HE ISN’T EVIL AND YOU AREN’T EVEN GOING TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE?!” Arlie yells as angry tears start streaming down her face, not just anger but betrayal, though whether at Xan or at the council she honestly couldn’t say.

“You are far too young to understand the ramifications of what has occurred to Xanatos.” A council member whose name she hadn’t bothered to remember tells her.

“I understand perfectly fine.  He made a mistake and you’ve all turned your backs on him.”

“HE TRIED TO KILL QUI-GON, ARLEIA! DO YOU THINK WE LIKE THIS? DO YOU THINK IT DOESN’T HURT US TOO? HE WAS IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US!” Micah shouted at her, she had never heard him shout before.

“Be careful we must, anger leads to hate and hate leads to the dark side. Need more fallen, we do not.” Yoda tells them all, everyone takes a few breaths trying to calm down though the tension in the room remained high, right up until the point Arlie saw Garen was crying.  She walked up to where he was seated on his master’s lap, at thirteen he was quite a bit taller than her but from their positions she had a bit of leeway to lean down slightly to face him better.

“Garen I need you to listen to me.  This isn’t your fault.” She says to him in a calm and kind voice she hadn’t been sure she was capable of now.  Everyone seemed shocked at her words before looking to the boy in front of her as though to see if he truly thought so.

“B-but I-I, he,” Garen tried but couldn’t get out, Micah rubbed soothing circles into his back. “We forced ourselves to spend time together coz we didn’t want you to have to choose.  I thought it would get better but it just meant we were always annoyed.  He went into that mission already pissed from talking to me that morning. I was trying to invite him over for dinner when he got back so that the three of us and our masters could relax after they had their mission but we ended up arguing. M-maybe if he hadn’t already been angry he-he, could h-have fought-t the d-dark side more.” Garen managed to say, it broke everyone’s heart especially Arlie’s.

“My friend, it was not your fault.  We may hate it but he made his own decision, no one made it for him and an argument with you would not have made a difference.  He had been struggling before he even met you.  He may have fallen Garen but don’t think of him that way, think of the man he was before, the annoying man that for whatever reason you did not get along with but I think in many ways was a good friend of yours.” Arlie tells him.  She earnt a lot of respect from those present in that moment, even Yoda.

“Not likely.” He answered automatically chuckling a bit.

“There see?  Xanatos was a good man, whatever is left of him though, whatever fallen twisted being he has become, it isn’t our friend anymore.  Don’t let these moments ruin what we all had before, our lost friend deserves better than that.” Arlie says fully believing everything she is saying.  She refuses to think of him as completely lost to them, but knew the chances of him ever being allowed back here were so slim that her friend deserved what closure he could get and she would do this for him.  Even if every word broke her even more.

They all left the chamber soon after, Mace and Arlie heading straight back to their quarters.

“I wish you’d believe your own words Arlie.”  Mace says to her after they stand in their living room at a loss for what to do.

“I do, and when or if he is ever truly lost to us they shall be my only comfort save for you.  But he isn’t yet.  I lost my father and step mother in a car crash, I’ll explain what a car is another time, but the moment I was told they died I mourned because I have not had trouble accepting things since I was taught by my mentor to use force-magic.  I had to accept the impossible then for many different reasons, had to accept new and horrible circumstances when I was kidnapped by pirates.  Learnt to live with these things, death and horrible situations for those I cared about all around me and knowing my younger brother would grow up the same way long before I ever met pirates.  I was a slave for seven years Master, five of them spent on Tatooine with my mother, one with my brother once he was born.  The next two I was alone after my owner sold me but not my family.  Then the pirates attacked the ship.  My point is my whole life I’ve had to accept things as they have come.  I can’t accept this, not yet.  I believe that he can come back to us, it’s whether or not he will that I question but I have to have faith, have to believe because I cannot handle anything different.  He saved me Master, if the one reason I’m free right now has fallen to the dark side then where does that leave me?”  Arlie says unable to stop talking once she started.

“It leaves you with me Arlie, loved and never alone.” He tells her, that was the last straw before she broke down.  They spend the rest of the night on the floor of their shared quarters alternating between Arlie crying, them reminiscing, bouts of denial, Arleia shouting and both of them crying, but through it all he held her being her rock when she needed it most.

 

The next morning the door chimes, Mace debates getting up before deciding to simply yell for them to come in.  He and Arlie were sitting on the floor leaning against the back of the couch and facing the door, they hadn’t moved in hours and unless dire need arises, they probably won’t for hours more.  Micah and Garen are the ones at the door, they walk in silently, Garen sits next to Arlie and takes her hand while Micah goes to the kitchen, returning a few moments later with tea for more people than were present which he places in front of them before taking a seat next to his padawan.

A few minutes later Tahl shows up, walking straight in because the door had been left open which, to be honest, was becoming a common occurrence.

“I just heard, I’m so sorry.” She says unable to find it within herself to give her usual reassuring smile.

“Pull up a pew.” Arlie says gesturing to the wall in front of them, she takes the hint and sits down grabbing one of the mugs as she does.  Minutes later they are joined by Master Gallia who sits without a word in the middle of the room between Tahl and Micah making a sort of half circle and nearly blocking the door.  They sit with each other for an hour in silence.

“I um, I’ve decided to take Initiate Eerin as my padawan, assuming she agrees.”  Tahl informs them breaking the silence.

“She will, she really looks up to you, has read a bunch of your research papers in her spare time and referenced your work on more than one occasion in her course work.”  Garen tells her with a smile, “But please don’t tell her I told you that.”

“I won’t, though it is flattering.”  Tahl tells him, it seemed to be an unspoken agreement that at least for now, titles and seniority did not exist between anyone in here, they were all just people, grieving.

“Xan mentioned to Garen and I a few days before he left that he hoped you’d ask her, he noticed during the celebration dinner and from stories Garen told that you two would make a good pair.” Arlie informed Tahl with a smile that showed the thought of her friend had not made her any sadder than she was.

“Yeah but to be fair that was the same time he said…uh…nothing.” Garen stumbles awkwardly after glancing at both her master and his own, the two masters in question look at each other and their padawans in confusion, Arlie rolls her eyes.

“Smooth.” She tells him mockingly.

“Oh, shut up asshole.” Garen replies instantly earning a few chuckles.

“Did you just call a seven-year-old an asshole?” Adi asks looking disapproving but there was a light in her eyes suggesting she thought it was hilarious.

“Okay first of all, she’s nearly eight, and second of all, she is not seven. If that girl is actually seven years old I will eat my lightsaber.” He tells them all earning a concerned look from his master and a laugh from Mace.

“She is sitting right here you know.” Arlie points out.

“I suppose being raised by pirates would age anyone.” Master Windu says, there’s total silence for a beat before everyone starts laughing while Arlie glares at her Master.

“It’s not funny! It’s annoying!” She tries saying but just ends up laughing along.

 

Life slowly began to return to normal after that, Garen had Arlie spending more time with his friends. At first, they seemed a little put out on his insistence they hang out with a child but they warmed up to her after a few days, after all Garen had been right, she wasn’t seven-years-old.  It was an odd sensation spending time with people who were both years younger and years older than her but she gradually got used to it.

On her eighth birthday Micah, Garen, Mace and Arlie went out to a local shopping district to buy Arlie clothes other than her Jedi robes and the slave clothes she was found in, not that any of them save for Mace knew that’s what they were, they just knew she had no clothes of her own and had all conspired against her deciding it was the perfect opportunity to buy her a new wardrobe.  As it was, she was wearing some over-sized clothes of Garen’s while they shopped.

“Okay, what kinds of clothes do you like?” Garen asks as they stand in the middle of a long strip of shops that Arleia would call a mall but apparently that was not a term used in this universe.  Arlie thought first of the clothes she wore as a child but disregarded that entirely, she thought of the clothes she wore on Earth but thought that type of thing would be near impossible to find on Coruscant. In the end, they decided to look around until they found some things she liked.

“What about this?” Micah asks finding a purple blouse that he thought would match the way she usually wore her hair which was basically ‘in a mess’ according to him.

“It’s a bit flowy but I like it.” Arlie says so they put it in the basket they had brought with them, they decided not to question where in the heck Garen had found the woven thing thinking the less they knew the better.  After hearing her minor complaint of flowiness, Garen led them to a rack he had noticed at the back of the store.

“How about this?” He asks, it was a dark brown leather jacket that he thought looked badass, she agreed, it was added to the basket along with some brown boots they found that were the same shade as the jacket, black leather pants and brown thick cotton pants.  A few more shirts that were quite colourful after Micah banned her from anymore brown and a flowery sundress that Garen had found and said the purple petals would bring out her eyes while the browny yellow of the flower centres would match her hair nicely.  She smiled shyly at him and thanked him adding the dress to the basket, their Masters shared a bewildered yet knowing smile when the padawans weren’t looking.

“How about some lunch?” Mace suggested once everything was paid for and they were leaving the store.  They all agreed and so went searching for a place that sold food not drowned in grease.

“This place reminds me of Rundle Mall.” Arlie says without thinking about it, she was holding her Master’s hand because the crowd had begun to overwhelm her as had often happened when she was young at the mall with her older brother.

“Where’s that?” Garen asks always curious to know more about Arlie’s past.

“On another planet.” Arleia replied momentarily forgetting that that’s commonplace here.

“Well duh I got that. I meant which one.”

“Oh, uh, a very sheltered planet on the outer rim, my owners had business there once soon after they bought me.” Arlie lies forgetting that Micah and Garen had not known she was a slave.

“You know I gotta ask because I’ve always been curious.  You hear rumours about slaves having explosives implanted in them in case they try to run, is that true?” Garen asks with the frivolousness only a child could manage.  It pleased her that the new information did not bother him though she noticed Micah and Mace exchanged worried looks after Garen asked. Before that, Micah had only seemed a little surprised but not at all put out.

“Yeah it is, always been curious to know where mine is.”  Arlie replies easily, it wasn’t nearly so hard to talk about as she had expected.

“How come your old owners didn’t blow it when they lost you?” He continues figuring if she began seeming bothered by it he’d stop.

“I don’t know, I’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities. Either they decided that since the pirates took me against my will and I didn’t know anything sensitive about them, or anything at all, that they may as well let me live.  Or the pirates killed them when they raided the ship.” 

“Man, that’s intense.  Hard to believe that was only a few months ago.” Garen says noticing he’d begun picking up on her mannerisms.  “Have you removed it now?”

“No, I didn’t see the point, my old mentor used the force to deactivate it the uh, moment we met.” She says with a smirk that told the others there was some inside joke there that they were not privy to.

“I have to say I didn’t take the explosive into account when you first told me, if you like we can have it removed when we return to the temple.  In fact, we probably should anyway in case something happens one day that could activate it.”  Mace tells her.

“Yeah, or the next slave they get finds the trigger and decides to reactivate it and set it off.” Arlie adds thoughtfully.

“They’d do that? Why? They must know they’d be killing another slave just like them.  Or well, you aren’t anymore but they wouldn’t know that.”  Micah says cursing his careless words though she seemed unbothered by them.

“It would only be if they were a child, it’s been known to happen.  A slave child finds a device they know will blow some other slave up and presses it because it gives them the feeling of being in control of someone else’s life for once, being in control of anything really.  It’s something all slaves crave but those growing up to it and not yet old enough to recognise the immorality of such an action find it a particularly intoxicating temptation.”  Arlie says attempting to explain a sensation that really can only be understood through experience.

“So did you ever, um…” Garen tries to ask before thinking maybe he shouldn’t, meanwhile his Master glares at him for even starting to.

“No, god no, I had a little brother Garen, I knew what others may be losing if I did that.  Besides, my feeling of control came with learning to use the force and my use of force-magic which works on the basis of telling it what to do and having it done.”  She replies instantly more than a little horrified by the suggestion.  Sure, the concept of such control had been as alluring to her as it was to anyone else when she’d spied one of the controllers unattended in a shop in another town on Tatooine but it had taken less than a second for her to put the thought out of her mind.  Her explanation did provide some insight into where her views on the force were based though and Mace felt a little bad for how he’d tried to deny her the control she clearly needed to feel.  Also for worrying it would lead her to the dark side when it seemed it would do the opposite and she was in no way going to let it go to her head.  He also thought that perhaps the differing views they shared stemmed from the different ways they use the force.  Force-magic did seem to be largely controlled by her whereas the way all other Jedi have been taught to use the force feels more like the force using their body as a catalyst for its own will.  Perhaps she could understand his point of view if only she would allow him to instruct her in the ways of the Jedi.  But he now understood some of her reluctance, to do so would be giving up the control she had waited so long for.

When they found a place that sold street food, Nubian was their specialty, the group sat down in the chairs across from it as they waited for their order.

“Is there a bathroom around here?” Arlie asks after about five minutes.

“A bathroom? You mean a ‘fresher?” Micah asks before continuing after she nods, “I think there’s one down that side street there.  Do you want one of us to go with you?” He asks kindly.

“I’m sorry to say that you all have the incorrect body parts to do so.” Arleia says with a smile as she walks in the direction Micah pointed, she chuckles at her own statement as she thinks of the few months she spent at about 15/16 years old identifying as male before reverting to her cis-gender.  The minute she enters the side street she feels a familiar wash of cold and is suddenly quite glad it was as crowded here as it was in the main street, especially after she hears a familiar voice call to her.

“Hello Arlie, long time no see.”  Xanatos says to her, she takes a deep breath to compose herself before turning to face him.

“Hello Saviour.” She says ignoring the dread pooling in her stomach and smiling at her old friend instead. “Where’ve you been Xan? I’ve been worried.  We all have.”  He snarls at her words viciously as he stalks closer to her, she fights back the instinct to step backwards.

“Like hells they have been, they want me dead. You were the only one I could trust not to kill me on sight.” He tells her as he reaches out to touch her face in what used to be a comforting gesture.

“Xan, what happened? Please, why did you give in to the dark side?” She pleads with him as tears build in her eyes.  She bites her lip to keep them from falling, unable to help the feeling she was saying goodbye to him just as she once had her mother.

“He didn’t save him, I didn’t save him and his murderer got away because my ‘master’ wouldn’t let me stop him!” Xanatos replies his voice filled with anger and hatred, his eyes yellow from corruption.

“My saviour, how far you have fallen.  Your version of stopping him would have been to kill him.  Please stop this, release your anger and come home.  Qui-Gon and I will convince the council to give you a probation with mandatory visits to a mind-healer or something, we can work something out Xan please! Come back to us.” Arleia says as she begins to cry only just holding back the sobs, Xanatos steps back from her.

“You misunderstand the point of this visit Arleia, I simply came to say goodbye, I didn’t want to leave things as they were.  But I will make my former Master pay for what he has done, and if you are with him, you will pay too.” He tells her his voice hard and his gaze cold.  She looks to the ground before swallowing down her grief and looking up at him with a steely gaze, knowing beyond doubt that he would not be returning to her.

“I wish you hadn’t come, I wish I had never seen what you have become.  You were right Xan, you are no one’s saviour, and if that day ever comes that you try to harm one of my allies I will grant you no mercy.  So leave, leave Coruscant and don’t ever come back, leave the Jedi alone and go into hiding on some backward planet.  Run Xanatos, because you will not like it if I find you.”  She tells him before going into the ‘fresher, when she exits there is no sign of him and for that she is glad.  She returns to her Master and their friends, attempting to feign happiness but they saw right through her, they return to the temple and all end up in Master Mace’s living room watching vids.

“See Master this is a movie!”  Arlie states victorious.

“Ohhhhh.”

She tells no one of Xanatos’ visit but that night she crawls into her Master’s bed long after midnight and cuddles up to his side.

“Are you all right Padawan?” He asks, instantly awake, especially after seeing her face as the shadows over her expression are not only from the lack of light.

“I was wrong Master, my words bring me no comfort.” She tells him, he holds her close as she cries.

 

 

It’s been six months since Arlie accepted the loss of her saviour and has slowly begun to move past it, relying on her friendships in a way she hadn’t in many years.  She spent a lot of time with Garen, Bant, Reeft, Obi and Bella though Garen more than the others given how often their Masters were at each other’s quarters.  More than once Mace and Arlie had woken to Garen watching vids in their living area and Micah making breakfast in the kitchen, or Arlie making tea and Mace cooking in Micah’s quarters.

Arlie found it incredibly odd to be eighteen-years-old, technically an adult, but legally be an eight-year-old.  She was certain that until she reached adulthood in physical appearance, the gap would only become more pronounced to her.  Luckily those around her were not fool enough to treat her as an eight-year-old.  They knew she wasn’t even if they did not know how nor did they question.

Bant, Reeft and Bellan had all been taken as padawans but Obi was still in the crèche, at 14 his time was running out.

“Master, do you think Obi-Wan will get a Master before he’s sent to the corps?” Arleia asks over dinner one night, unsurprisingly Micah was in attendance, Garen was running late from class.  Arlie’s certain it’s because he’s getting yelled at again for being disruptive.

“You know I really think he might.”  Mace replies with a mischievous glint in his eye matching the smirk he wore perfectly.

“Dear god that’s terrifying, what the devil did you do Winni?”  Arlie demands of her Master though her voice was filled with laughter.  He glowered slightly at the nickname but since she only used it at home or around Garen and Micah he hadn’t told her to stop.  The annoying part was that Micah had no such qualms about saying it in public.

“I assigned him to a master.  Generally, you know, I would leave it up to the master and padawan to find each other however in this case I believe they will be good for each other but won’t move forward with it because of some prickly circumstances.”  Mace tells them, Micah narrows his eyes at his friend.

“Winni, who did you assign Kenobi to?” He asks.

“Qui-Gon.” Mace replies innocently, Micah looks at him slack-jawed meanwhile Arlie freezes a little.  Master Jinn’s name was not often spoken of in her presence, a habit of others that annoyed her to no end.  Jinn had avoided her for a month after his initial return from his last mission with Xanatos, since then he’d been out on missions near constantly, she thinks he’s no longer avoiding her specifically but everyone altogether.  Either way she has not seen him since the council meeting.  Arlie was in part grateful for his early avoidance, she couldn’t have faced him for a few weeks after the incident, but his presence would have been of great comfort to her after the confrontation on her birthday.  She missed the easy friendship she had developed with the man but hadn’t sought him out, she had no intention of making this harder on him and if seeing her would do so, she would not force it on him.

“That’s either going to go really well or exceptionally badly, my bets on both.” Micah says after a few moments, she nods her agreement.

“I think if they both get their heads out of their arses in several different ways it could be great!” Arlie says dryly earning her a disapproving look from her Master but a very bright look from Micah.

 

A few days later Master Windu and his Padawan are training in the salle, Mace once again extremely frustrated by her inability to let him teach her anything.

“Okay Arleia for force’s sake!  I don’t understand, you hate the force, dislike one of the most powerful Jedi and despise the way this order is run.  You can’t stand the rules and you refuse to learn our ways, what is it you’re wanting from us? WHY DID YOU EVEN ACCEPT A PLACE IN THE ORDER IF YOU WOULD NEVER TRULY JOIN IT?!” Mace yells when they are in the middle of a very heated argument.

“I AM ONLY HERE BECAUSE ONE DAY MY BROTHER WILL BE AND THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO STAY CLOSE TO HIM!” Arleia yells back.

“WELL YOU AREN’T GONNA BE STICKING AROUND LONG WHEN YOU PURPOSELY FAIL ALL OF OUR TEACHINGS!  YOUR BROTHER MIGHT BENEFIT MORE FROM HAVING HIS OLDER SISTER ACTUALLY SUCCEEDING IN THIS ORDER!”

“I’D LET THE GALAXY BURN TO SAVE HIS LIFE, I AM NO JEDI!”

“THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE ARLIE? PLEASE TELL ME BECAUSE BY THE FORCE I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO, YOU CLEARLY HAVE NO INTENTION OF BEING A JEDI KNIGHT AND YOU COULD ALWAYS JUST VISIT THE TEMPLE SO REALLY, WHY. ARE. YOU. HERE?!”

“I don’t know.” She says quietly, they both stand in the middle of the training floor panting after their shouting for a few moments during which they both look and feel exceptionally lost, then Mace turns and walks out of the room shaking his head sadly, terrified he’d just lost his padawan and feeling more defeated than any other moment of his life.

 

A few hours of pointlessly walking around later Arlie found herself at the crèche looking at younglings, who were about her age anyway, learn about the Jedi, their history, their abilities and their purpose in life.

“What role do the Jedi occupy in the Republic?” The Master asks testing her charges. “Yes Thelm.” She responds to the girl who raised her hand.

“To bring peace and order to the galaxy.  We are supposed to keep people safe.” The girl replies.

“Very good Initiate Gart.” The Master tells her.

Having seen enough Arlie heads back home to speak to her Master, on the way she realizes the truth of the matter.  She wasn’t here for her brother, though being able to one day see him was definitely a bonus.  She wasn’t here because of the promise she made her Mentor even if she does wish she cared more about it.  She was here because it was the right thing to do.  She enters her quarters to see her Master sitting on the couch looking at the holo of the man and his three kids that he’d shown them long ago.

“Master you were right, I’m not here for my brother.  Maybe that’s why I stayed to begin with but it’s not why I’m here now.  The truth is, all I’ve ever wanted is to help people so, so teach me the ways of the Jedi, Master.  I’m ready to listen now.”  He turns back, shutting down the holo, and smiles at her warmth mixed with an intense feeling of relief.

“Well then, let’s get started.”


	5. Ignorance Really Is Bliss

Lightsabers clash in battle, a swift kick, a feint with the lightsaber, a punch that isn’t blocked.  A few twists and flips and she’s airborne landing on the other side of her opponent with her lightsaber at his throat, too slow she notices his lightsaber at her stomach, it’s a stalemate.  Both fighters turn when they hear someone clapping.

“What a show my old friends, I’m saddened to realize it has been a long time since I last watched you spar.”  Master Dooku says as he enters the training Salle.  Arlie and her master bow in greeting.

“Not much has changed except on occasion I manage not to get my ass handed to me.”  Master Windu says without malice.

“You still haven’t beaten me though.” Arlie says to him before turning to the other man, “It is good to see you again Master Dooku, it has been far too long.”

“Indeed it has child, when last I saw you, you were steadfastly refusing to touch a lightsaber, let alone use it with such skill.  It is nice to see you accepting the teachings of your Master.”

“Only took the better part of a year.” Windu says earning an elbow to the gut from his padawan, he laughs at that.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s been nearly two years since I joined.”  Arlie exclaims when she realizes that, it had been a long year since she began accepting her Masters teachings, in that time Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had begun their so far tumultuous padawanship which she assumed was the reason for Master Dooku visiting the temple, though she was overjoyed that he had chosen to see them as well.

“Are you looking for Qui-Gon?” Master Windu asks clearly thinking the same as Arlie.  Master Dooku had kept in touch with her after their first meeting but they had only seen each other face to face a handful of times, she still felt that cold feeling from him that put her on edge without fail every time, she hoped beyond hope it wouldn’t lead him down the same path it led…no, she wasn’t going down that train of thought, it leads nowhere good.

“No, he and his new protégé are due back tomorrow morning as I’m sure you’re aware.  I came to surprise my padawan and meet my new grand-padawan.  I have to say I was surprised by the news, I did not think he would take another student after…well, you know.” Master Dooku says glancing quickly at Arlie who only just stops herself from rolling her eyes.

“Yes, well my dear Master did not give him much of a choice, nor did Obi to be honest with you.” Arlie says with a chuckle as she thinks of the way her friend fought to keep his place, of how he is still fighting.  Just then Micah walks into the room and stands just inside the doorway.

“HAS ANYONE SEEN A LITTLE BRAT OF A PADAWAN ABOUT YAY HIGH, SHORT BROWN HAIR WITH A PADAWAN BRAID ABOUT SHOULDER LENGTH WHICH IF HE IS NOT CAREFUL WILL NOT BE GETTING MUCH LONGER?” He bellows to the whole training room, padawans look horrified at the thought, some masters disapproving of what they know is an empty threat while others just look amused, no one has any answers though, Micah walks over when he spots them. “Your dear friend if going to be the death of me, kid.” He says to Arlie.

“What did the idiot do now?” Arlie asks fondness colouring her voice.

“He drank. All. Of. My. Caff.” Micah replies disdainfully, Arleia notices movement above them and looks up to see the padawan in questions hanging from the rafters on the ceiling as he swings from one to the other using the force to keep from falling.

“Well that explains that.”  She says pointing up.

“Hi Master!” Garen yells with a toothy grin.

“GAREN MULN GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW OR YOU ARE NEVER HAVING ANOTHER MUG OF CAFF UNTIL YOU’RE KNIGHTED!”  Garen looks terrified at the notion and immediately climbs back to the wall and down before running over to join them.

“I was gonna get you more caff Master, honest.  Arlie and I were gonna ask to go to the shopping strip this afternoon to replace the shoes we set on fire and I was gonna get some then right Arls?”  Garen says all childlike innocence that was far too out of place on the fifteen-year-old’s face.

“Yes, in fact I was about to ask this morning when Master Windu suggested sparring before the morning council meeting and I got distracted.”  Arlie says jumping onto the lie knowing neither master will truly believe it but backing her friend up anyway, Garen looked incredibly pleased by that.

“Oh force! I forgot about the meeting!  Padawan, head there with these two nitwits, I have to go get Tahl’s research that she asked me to bring up.  Pleasure to see you Dooku.”  Micah says hurriedly before rushing out of the room, it was quiet for about three seconds before the padawans started laughing.

“While I disapprove of you manipulating your way out of trouble Padawan Skywalker I have to say, that was quite impressive.”  Master Dooku says.

“Wait you brought up the council meeting on purpose?”  Garen asks surprised, he thought it was just luck.

“My dear friend I do very little without purpose.  We were there three days ago when Master Tahl asked him to bring her research to the council remember? I simply noticed he didn’t have it and used that to my advantage.  Of course, if we don’t get him that replacement caff it’ll have been for nothing so, Master, could Garen and I actually go to the shopping ma-uh-strip after the meeting?  We can grab dinner from the restaurant you love and pick up the book you ordered while we are there?  Maybe have Master Giiett and Garen over for dinner?”  Arlie asks using her famed ‘Ice to a Hothian’ face.  Mace looked rather unimpressed every time she did this but as per usual her argument was logical and he found he could not refute it.

“Yes Padawan you can go, Master Dooku, would you care to join us for dinner?” Master Windu offers, Garen’s eyes go wide, Dooku had a reputation after all and he had spent no time with the Jedi Master, Arlie was delighted by the prospect, she always enjoyed their conversations because he would specifically push the limits of her current understandings in a way others didn’t usually bother to find.

“I would be delighted, what time should I be there?”   

“7th hour?”

That decided Mace and the two padawans began walking to the council chamber.  As was often the case, the conversation turned to the light and dark sides of the force.  The other council members rolled their eyes in silent suffering when they hear the topic of conversation as they enter the room but they knew it was no longer an argument and was now Arlie trying to grasp a concept that was difficult for her to understand.

“Okay, but Master, if one were to use force lightening to strike a lightning rod, which got power to a generator that in turn powered a shield, this shield then saved the lives of an entire town with hundreds of people from a sandstorm, how can that action be considered dark?”  Arlie asks her face scrunched in concentration as she struggles to understand.  Her words brought silence to the entire room as the Masters listened to her Master’s response all glad they had not been the ones asked for they did not know how to answer that.

“I don’t know Arlie, it just is.”  Master Windu replies lamely knowing his padawan would not accept that.

“It just, it seems to me that these uses of the force aren’t inherently dark, it’s the people that usually use them that are.  It’s reasonable to assume that these fallen Jedi use the force this way because they are the more aggressive techniques but Master, aggressive doesn’t always mean bad.”  Arleia says hoping the conclusion she’s drawn won’t anger the other Masters that are not so subtly listening in.

“Ignorance, you are showing padawan.” Yoda says from his seat, she turns to glare at him as every single person present starts silently cursing the troll for speaking and bracing themselves for another of the pairs famous arguments.

“Stubbornness you are showing troll.  Are you really telling me that if a Jedi Master saved hundreds of people as I described, you’d put them to death for ‘being dark’?”

“Necessary it would be.” Yoda tells her, none of the masters like that answer and are honestly astounded he said it.  Arlie is about to respond unkindly when she notices something in his posture and in his eyes.

“Perhaps one day we can have this discussion in a more appropriate venue Master Yoda.” Arleia says, he looks at her in surprise for a moment before noticing something in her face and nodding.

“Perhaps.” He concedes.

“I must be hallucinating from over exertion caused by running across the temple because I could have sworn I just saw Yoda and Skycrawler agree on something.” Micah says as he stands panting inside the door.

“Careful Master, your age is showing.” Garen pipes up to defend his friend. She grins at him and he mock salutes her.

“Can we focus on the meeting now?” Master Ki-Adi-Mundi asks hoping to put an end to the bickering before it got out of control as was often the case when Arlie Skywalker was around.

“Brilliant idea Ki.” Mace agrees before calling everyone to order and officially beginning the meeting.

An hour into the meeting Garen and Arlie were communicating through subtle gestures that went unnoticed by no one, however they lasted fifteen minutes longer than usual and were not being disruptive so everyone left them to it, then Mace’s comm began beeping incessantly.

“My apologies, I have to answer this.” He says after checking who was calling, he answers and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s panicked voice fills the room.

“Master Windu, Master Jinn needs a healer, we’re nearly back on Coruscant but I don’t know how long he can wait.” The young Padawan says quickly.

“Padawan calm down, tell me what happened.” Mace requests in an even voice that does not give away the panic he feels.

“We ran into Xanatos sir.  He was behind the bombings, we cornered him in a room in a factory with an insane amount of catwalks, who uses catwalks anyway? They were completely unnecessary. Anyway, they fought, he got me and tried to use me to make my master surrender but he wouldn’t, he threw me at him, I tried to stop but I couldn’t oh god I couldn’t.  Master Jinn caught me but didn’t turn in time to stop Xanatos of striking him in the head, he fell unconscious and he hasn’t woken up since. His head was bleeding pretty bad, I stopped it but he still hasn’t woken and we couldn’t stay there so I took him back to the ship and started heading straight home. I didn’t know what else to do.” Obi-Wan tells them all clearly still panicking.

“It’s all right Obi-Wan you did everything right.  What happened to Xanatos after Qui-Gon was knocked out?” Micah asks speaking loud enough for Obi-Wan to hear him.

“H-He, I, I don’t even know how to…” Obi-Wan began as he struggled to find the words, “He’s dead Masters.” He finally settled on. 

“We’ll have a healer waiting to take him to medical when you arrive, you’ll have until then to collect yourself enough to recount what happened.”  Ki tells him in a soothing voice.

“I’ll see you then but if you don’t mind, I’d like to go check on my master.”

“Of course not, we shall see you when you arrive, Coruscant out.” Master Gallia replies, Mace shuts off the comm and silence fills the room.

“Unfortunate this loss is.” Yoda says after a minute or so.

“Xanatos was lost to us a long time ago, this is just the death of a dark-Jedi.” Arlie says confidently, “We’ve been mourning him for a year already.”

“The second time this is when in agreement we have been.” Yoda tells her with what almost sounds like kindness in his voice.

“Watch your tone troll, or someone may start believing you care for me.” She says to him.

“Impudent Padawan.” Yoda grumbles in response, the exchange leaves a small smile on Mace’s face.

“We’d better alert Terza that she’ll soon have a patient.” Adi reminds them, Micah stands up.

“I’ll go fetch her and go with her to wait for them. Once we’ve been to the healers I’ll bring Obi-Wan up here. Garen I’m going to take you to the library to see Tahl on my way down. I don’t want you here for this.” He announces looking at his padawan with sad eyes.

“Padawan, perhaps you should go with him.” Mace says to her as he turns to face her.

“Like hell I will. I need to hear this and at the very least, it sounds like Obi needs a friend.” Arlie replies fiercely, miffed that her Master even entertained the idea of her leaving.

“If she’s staying, I’m staying.” Garen tells his master as he walks over to Arlie and takes her hand in a show of support.  She smiles up at him for it and squeezes his hand three times, their signal of assurance that they are doing okay to which he replies in kind.

“You know there was a time when Padawans would do as their Masters told them.”  Micah informs them genuinely cross with their actions in a way he only is when he believes they are endangering themselves.

“Well isn’t it fortunate that we’ve had such great Masters that have taught us to think rationally and make decisions by ourselves.” Arlie replies easily.

“You call this rational?” Mace asks sarcastically, he grimaces as he notices the shift in his padawan from generally argumentative to ‘ice to a hothian’ level.

“Master we will both hear what has happened eventually but by the time we do the facts will have been twisted, we may have no support at our immediate disposal and I think I deserve to know what has happened at the same time as the council.  He did bring me into the order after all.  Furthermore, Obi-Wan struggled saying just that much, I’m sure he’ll find it easier with two close friends standing with him, the three of us will be with each other to ensure we are okay and you all get your facts.  This way you can control the situation I find out what happens in and you can be sure you’ll be present.” Arlie tells him.  The other masters manage varying degrees of smirk and amused smiles as the head of the order has his ass verbally handed to him by his nine-year-old padawan.  It had been a while since this happened in the council chambers, every single person in that room knew she had won.

“Fine.  But not a single word of it leaves this room.  Qui-Gon was unconscious for whatever happened which means when he awakens he will have to be told, probably by either me or Master Giiett.  The rest of the temple doesn’t get to know before the man’s Master does.” Mace says grinding his teeth and over pronouncing his words in a way Arlie knew meant trouble. “Padawan Skywalker.” He says after a beat, she looks at him and refuses to cower in the face of his too controlled anger though inside she hates herself for causing it. “The next time I tell you to do something, you had best be prepared to do it.  I’ve had enough of you thinking you can talk your way out of everything because life doesn’t work that way.  I am the Master and you are the Padawan, you will learn that no matter how much you may hate me for it.”  He tells her with barely restrained rage in his voice. “I’ll get the healer.” He says before stalking out of the room.  Everyone sits in shocked silence for a few minutes after he leaves.

“He’s just upset because of Xan Arlie, he doesn’t mean that.” Garen tells her as he wraps his arm around her, it’s only then she realises she has tears streaming down her face.

“No, he does Garen and it’s okay really, I’ve known since the moment I met him that eventually I’d push him too far.  I kinda thought he was at his scariest when he questioned why I even joined the order but nope, that was worse.  It’s fine though, I still believe I did the right thing so I can deal with the consequences, whatever they are.” Arlie tells him truthfully though it hurt her greatly to hear her Master so angry at her.

“Went against your Master you did, the right thing it must not be.”

“You know one of these days I’m gonna hit you in the head with your own gimmer stick.”

 

Fifteen minutes later Master Windu walks in with a distraught looking Obi-Wan Kenobi, Garen immediately rushes forward to his best friend’s side as does Arlie a moment later. They stand on either side of him, Arlie taking his hand and Garen with an arm around his shoulders.

“Whenever you’re ready Padawan Kenobi.” Master Gallia tells him soothingly, he nods to her and attempts what was probably supposed to be a smile but ended up being a grimace.

“You already know about the bombings and Master Qui-Gon getting h-um, hit in the back of his head.  So, then I yelled at Xanatos, something about being ungrateful and a bunch of stuff about his Master loving him and some stuff about Arlie too I think, I don’t know I wasn’t thinking too clearly by that point.  He had been snarling at me the entire time when suddenly he stood up and stepped back, he dropped his lightsaber and when he looked up at me, well his eyes had changed colour.” Obi tells them all.

“What do you mean changed colour? Were they yellow?” Micah asks trying to sound patient when he was exactly the opposite.

“No, they had been yellow the entire time but in that moment, they were blue again.” Arlie’s breath caught in her throat when he says that but she maintained her composure.

“Go on.” Mace demands earning him a glare from his padawan.

“He started backing away muttering to himself, what have I done, I hurt him I scared her oh gods what have I done.  He seemed completely insane before looking at me in total clarity, h-he…he sa…” Obi stuttered as he started to breathe heavily.

“It’s okay Obi, whatever happened, it’s over. You’re safe now and you are not alone. We are right here beside you.” Arleia tells him as Garen squeezes his shoulders.

Obi-Wan clears his throat before continuing, “He said, tell him I’m sorry. Then he turned and jumped into a tank of acid below the catwalk.”  Arlie fought for control as tears began running down her face and the screaming in her head came back, loudly.  A mental chant of ‘not again this can’t have happened again’ began as she thought of the two other friends she’d lost to suicide. She tried to remind herself that this was different but she couldn’t convince herself of it.  She refused to break down in the middle of the council chambers, or in front of anyone save her Master.  Though she was no longer sure that was an option either.  She heard someone talking to her and recognised it was Garen asking if she was okay but she was trapped in her head and could not even make the decision to acknowledge he had spoken let alone answer.  She started singing in her head in an attempt to calm down and regain control.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine._

_You make me happy, when skies are grey._

_You_ _’ll never know dear, how much I love you._

_Please don_ _’t take my sunshine away._

“I’m alright Garen, thanks.” She replies, it was too late to seem natural but he seemed satisfied with her answer, probably glad that she answered at all. “Do you want to stay with us tonight Obi?” Arleia offers, honestly, she would much rather be alone and not have to pretend to be okay, but she couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t put her friend first.

_‘You have the greatest capacity to love that I have ever seen in anyone_ _’_

She shivers at the sudden memory, she didn’t love them.  Love was a weakness she could not afford, because in this moment Arleia decided she would honour the promise she had made to her mentor, she would make the Jedi evolve even if she had to drag them kicking and screaming the entire time.

“No, I appreciate the offer but Healer Terza said I could stay in a cot next to my Master tonight.” Obi-Wan informs them.

 

A few hours later found Arlie standing on the balcony of her and her Master’s quarters watching the sun set.  No one had been surprised when Dooku opted to see his injured Padawan instead of dinner but informed them he’d make up for it when Qui-Gon was awake.  Micah and Garen had gone to collect dinner from the restaurant and Mace had disappeared an hour ago. She was quite shocked when the door opened and her Master walked out, coming to lean against the railing next to her.

“I can see why you like it out here, it’s a great view and it’s… peaceful.” Master Windu says in an attempt to break the silence.

“Well it was.” Arlie replied testily.  “So, did you come to lecture me again? Because I’m sorry to disappoint you but I’m not ever gonna back down when you tell me to if I believe I’m doing the right thing.”

“Good, the day you do will be the day I lose all respect for you.” He says shocking her enough that she actually looks at him. “Arlie, I wasn’t being intentionally cruel earlier.  I reacted that way because I was worried for you, I wanted to protect you from all of that and you wouldn’t let me.  But that was a mistake, you were right, you would have found out anyway and I was only delaying the inevitable. I made another mistake a while back.  I asked you to trust me without giving you reason to and that wasn’t fair.  You don’t really know anything about me nor I you and I believe that needs to change so…” He says while activating the holo he was holding, it was the same image she had seen twice before, Mace, the man, and the three children. “That used to be my brother.” He says pointing to the man.

“Used to be?” Arlie asks wondering how far he’d go with this.

“He killed his wife in front of their three kids, these three kids here.” Arlie looks closer at them, the care free expressions on their faces and thinks of how quickly they must have disappeared, she feels tears burning in her eyes when she notices something familiar about the eldest child.

“Is that Obi-Wan?” She asks bewildered.

“Yes it is, he was seven years old in that photo.  The younger boy’s name is Nih-Lo and the baby girl there is Padmè.”

“What happened to them?”

“Obi-Wan and Nih-Lo never told anyone that it was their father that killed Lorna, their mother.  I had believed Sheev’s lie of a thief breaking into their home and Lorna foolishly attempting to stop him.  A week later he put the kids up for adoption, I didn’t even know until it was done because I had been on a mission.  I was so angry at him for it, I left to try and find them all, I haven’t spoken to him since.  Obi-Wan was adopted by Cliegg and Aika Lars, they did what Sheev and Lorna had been unwilling to do and allowed him to come to the temple.  He was eight at that time and was only accepted into the crèche because his birth father had a high enough standing on their home world to have had him receive some force training without leaving home.”

“Which planet are they from?” Arleia asks curiously though feeling a tad guilty about interrupting again.

“Naboo, Padmè is still there. She was adopted into the Naberrie family, she was just a year old at the time and as far as I know she isn’t even aware she’s adopted.”

“What of Nih-Lo?” Mace doesn’t answer for a moment.

“Nih-Lo was always a bit of a problematic kid, then he watched as his father murdered his mother and threatened to do the same to all three of them if they told.  He didn’t get adopted, was fostered throughout several different worlds before running away altogether a few months ago on his twelfth birthday.  He was five when it all happened.  I haven’t been able to find him since though I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t looked very hard.”

“When did Obi-Wan finally tell you the truth about what happened?”

“About 20 minutes ago.”

“Crickey.” Arlie says with a disbelieving sigh. Mace looks at her with a patient expression.

“You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.” He tells her, but they both know she will.

“I was born on Freighter, my father was my owner at the time, he was…not a nice man.  Mother and I were taken and given to Jabba the Hutt when his men caught up to my Father who had screwed Jabba over.  Jabba sold us rather quickly to a Toydarian named Watto when I was three.  When I was five, not quite a year after my brother was born, my owner sold me to some offworlders.  They took me throughout many different planets on the outer rim in the two years I was with them, then the ship was attacked and I was kidnapped by pirates.  I got shoved into a tiny dark room and left for, actually I have no idea how long.  Then a blue light came from the darkness and a voice told me to step through, that it would save me.  I figured anything was better than where I was.  The voice came from a female wookiee who became my mentor, the blue light was some kind of portal that took me to what my teacher called an in-between.  It’s complicated, I’ll explain another time, what you need to know is that we were basically frozen in a moment of time.  But it’s there that I was trained.  She taught me to use force-magic so that I could defend myself when she sent me back, but something went wrong right before she tried to, she said we were being attacked though I don’t know how that is possible.  Anyway, she sent me to another universe and to the only inhabited planet within range, Earth.  I spent ten years on Earth, raised by a family there.  My father and stepmother were killed in a car accident, two of my friends committed suicide, I think my mother may have cheated on my dad and made them split up but I never found out for certain.  I got cheated on and abandoned many times, went to seven different schools by 11th year, developed some serious mental health issues though surprisingly I’m doing much better now.  Spent a few months dealing with a slight alcohol problem when I was fifteen, my older brother was always so perfectly behaved it drove me insane.  I gained another little brother which made me miss home more than I had the entire time I had been away.  I had girlfriends and boyfriends, went through many actual friends before deciding not to give a damn anymore.  I told my older brother my real name once, that I was born into slavery and had been kidnapped by pirates and was only faking my amnesia, didn’t change much.  In the end, a portal opened before me when I was 17, the same voice as before telling me it was my choice if I stayed or left.  I don’t really know why, but thinking of the brother I had here who may well have been an orphan at this point had me stepping through and leaving my whole life behind, I can’t explain it. Regardless of the reason, I ended up back on the god forsaken pirate ship in a room that had given me nightmares for a decade, still does actually.  It was dark, took me a few minutes to even find out I was seven-years-old again.  A month later Xan liberated me and he and Qui-Gon brought me here, you know the rest.”

“I gotta say of all the things you could have told me, that is not what I expected.  So, you’re nineteen?” Mace asks looking extremely discombobulated, she laughs at the look.

“Yes, nearly twenty.” She replies standing taller and just generally holding herself more at ease.

“You know that means we didn’t properly celebrate your birthday last year. It was your eighteenth! Okay that’s decided, I’m gonna comm Micah, have him pick up something nice and you are gonna have your first drink, in this universe at least, with us. I’m sure Garen will be allowed half a glass or something too.  And don’t worry we don’t have to tell them, I don’t think they’ll be the least bit surprised by ‘Don’t ask questions but my padawan is actually 19 so we missed her 18th last year, go find a nice bottle of brandy or something’” Mace tells her sounding very excited about having a late 18th for her.

“Sounds fantastic Winni.” She says with a smile, he reaches for his comm before stopping concerned.

“That slight alcohol problem you mentioned.” He says uncertainly, she smiles reassuringly at him.

“was four years ago and not a dependency so much as a drinking too much too often especially given my family had little to no idea.  Point is, I’ll be fine.” Arlie tells him honestly.

“All right, I trust you. I am going to keep an eye on you though.”  He says earning him a blinding smile from his padawan.  He then punches in Micah’s number.

“We just left the restaurant, the place was packed, we’re just entering the temple.” Micah says in lieu of an actual greeting.

“Yeah Micah whatever, listen, turns out last year was Arleia’s 18th birthday not her 8th.”  Mace tells him, they wait a moment when silence falls on the other end.

“No lightsaber in my dinner.” They vaguely hear Garen say in the background.

“Yeah whatever smartass, okay we will be another 10-15 minutes.” Micah says before shutting off the comm.  Mace and Arlie stay out on the balcony together just enjoying each other’s company for a while.

“You know, I trust you too.” Arlie says after a few minutes, Mace smiles at her and puts his arm over her shoulders as they look out over the sky line. “Let’s make a pact.  If ever we need the other to do something no questions asked, no hesitance, no arguments just immediate doing, we say ‘trust me’ and the other will know to do it.” Mace thinks it over.

“Okay, but we can’t do it every time we want something, like today me asking you to leave the council chamber would not have qualified. But if I had needed you to leave because if you didn’t the temple would be blown up and I didn’t have time to explain that, that would count.” Mace tells her.

“A pact, we only request blind faith in dire circumstances, but when it’s asked for we give it, no hesitation.” Arlie says to him.

“No hesitation.” Mace agrees as they shake on it.

“I’m sorry about your brother, it can’t be easy to find that out about someone you love.” She says after debating whether or not to mention it again for a few minutes, he smiles sadly without turning away from the skyline.

“I think some part of me knew there was more to what happened, but never had I suspected this.  He was my older brother and despite me being raised in the temple, we were always rather close.  To know he k…to know it was him…she was his best friend since they were children, I’d known her my entire life and knew how much they had always loved each other.  The way she would look at him was just…I just can’t believe he’d…” Mace tells her, leaning more heavily on the railing, Arlie put an arm around him as best she could at this angle given her height, he smiled gratefully.

“As I have been known to say, every person is capable of doing truly horrible things, but it was Xan that reminded me everyone is capable of kindness and compassion as well.  He taught me that there is more to life then the bad parts, I have to believe there is more to your brother as well.  I cannot even begin to understand why he might have done this, but in the right circumstances you or I would be capable of the same thing.  I am not saying that it makes it better, merely that the memories you have of your brother’s love and kindness may not be as false as you seem to now believe.  If you think he was a good man then I believe without a doubt that he was, that something changed.  Your fond memories are just as valid as they have always been.” He smiles at her as a tear slips from his eye, truly grateful for the amazing girl that he was granted for his padawan.

“We’re here! We also need to start shutting the door.” Garen calls as he walks into the living area, Mace and Arlie share one more look of complete support and care before they head back inside to meet them, they all gather around the coffee table, all sitting on the floor as they usually do.

“He says while leaving it wide open.” Mace replies as he goes and closes it before sitting down as well. “Usually it’s not a problem but technically this could be viewed as illegal.”

“Yeah, but we know better, hey did anyone think to get plates or glasses or cutlery before sitting down?”  Micah asks when he moves to bring out the food, everyone shakes their heads.

“I got it.” Arlie says before using force-magic to make them appear on the table.

“Frivolous use of the force Padawan.” Micah, Arlie and Garen all say when Mace opens his mouth to speak, Mace glares at them but soon enough they are all laughing, the days trials momentarily forgotten.


	6. A Meeting With The Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the truth comes the consequence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer – Just realised I haven’t been doing this, Whoops! So apart from story line and a few OCs, Star Wars is obviously, though sadly, not mine. Rights to Lucas, also there are references to a movie named Dinotopia and also to Harry Potter. I cannot quite remember where in the story they are so I’ll just add it every chapter. It talks about the code they have for life on Dinotopia, and I blatantly quote Hermione at some point.

 

Arlie meditates in the garden in the temple, she’d had a brief panic attack that morning and decided to see if meditation would help, it surprisingly did.  Then Yoda came and sat down next to her.

“Good morning troll.” She says still surprisingly in good spirits.  It was not even breakfast yet, she was meeting her Master and Micah and Garen in the commissary at 8th hour but she had woken at 5th.

“Troubled you are, talk to me you can.” He says without bothering to retort.  She looked at him confused for a moment.

“You enforce rules you don’t agree with.  Why?” She asks remembering what she had seen in the council chambers before they heard of Xanatos’ death a week ago.

“Willing to change the Jedi will not be.” Yoda replies sadly, she looks at him like he’s grown a second head.

“Master Yoda, the Jedi are changing, you’re the one being left behind.  But this is about more than that, you tried for change before, didn’t you?  You were shut down.” Arlie realises.

“A padawan I was, young and foolish you are, young and foolish I was too.  Change I tried to bring, Ignored I was then, ignored I was always.”

“Maybe if you had kept trying...” Yoda holds up a hand to silence her, which ticks her off but this is his story and so she lets him get away with it, this time.

“A century I spent, change nothing did. Try again I will not for change the Jedi do not wish to.”

“How can you just give up? New people, new century, new chances to be heard.” He goes to speak but she signals for him to remain silent, “No if you really wanted change, things would change.  You are the grand master of the order Master Yoda, not some young and foolish padawan.  People will listen to you, they respect your opinions and to be honest, you run this place.  So, no more excuses. Do or do not, there is no try.” She tells him fiercely, he smiles peacefully at her.

“Had we met many years ago, friends we might have been.” Yoda tells her, she chuckles.

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” She says, he swats her with his stick and she laughs outright.

“Right you may have been, saved he could have been if blinded we were not.  Alone in that I was not but my responsibility it is.  Apologise I do for cost you a friend I have.”

“That would mean more to me if I thought it would change anything should this happen again, but it won’t. You’ll all react the same way, kill the thing you fear as most sentient life forms do.”

“Risk the order for one we cannot, risk civilians we can do so even less.”

“One stern talking to and Xan snapped out of it, but it was too late for him.  You would condemn someone else to the same fate because you are too much of a coward to risk them turning their backs on you again?” Arlie snaps cruelly, he looks at her very seriously as he chooses his next words.

“Cowardice it is not, more accurate the term self-preservation is.  Want to save them I do, want to risk others I do not, find a balance I cannot.”

“Give them a chance? Give them a chance to explain, talk things through with them.”

“A chance you gave Xanatos, listen to your advice and run he did not.”

“How do you know about that?”

“Knew you would I always did.” Arlie looks at him confounded for a moment before she realises what he means and her anger grows.

“Prescience, you knew he would fall. For how long?!”

“Less than you.” He replies shortly with a narrow-eyed look. “Change the rules of the order we cannot, too dangerous the dark side is.  Stay the same some things must if survive we all are to.” Arlie turns to face him completely, absolutely furious.

“You are so afraid of falling you refuse to evolve, but fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to the dark side.  Your fear of it will be the only thing to lead you there.  Don’t drag the rest of us down with you.” She spits at him before getting up and storming off to meet her Master, aware she is running late.

 

She is greeted by the sight of her Master laughing with Micah in a way usually reserved for home, whichever one it was.  Garen was just joining them at the table so she hurries to join them as she feels her anger dissipate entirely.

“Hey, mind if we join you?” Master Tahl asks about 10 minutes after Arlie arrives, to Garen and Arlie’s delight, Bant is with her.

“Of course not, pull up a chair.” Micah tells them with a smile, Bant sits next to Garen while Tahl sits beside Mace.

“So, I hear you had an interesting morning Padawan Skywalker.” Master Tahl says amusement colouring her voice, though it did not cover the reprimanding tone either, she may have found it amusing but that did not mean she in any way approved.

“Who knew the Jedi were such gossips.” Arlie says with a sigh.

“You did, you use it to your advantage all the time.  Got to say, pretty ballsy accusing the grandmaster of the order to be on the verge of falling to the dark side.”  Master Tahl continues, the other residents of the table gape at her save for Bant who had been the one to tell her Master what she had heard.

“Arleia Skywalker!” Mace starts knowing that his padawan has taken it too far this time.

“I did not! God damn this is the worst game of Chinese whispers ever!” Arlie claims with a scandalised look on her face.

“Then what did happen?” Micah asks, believing her but still looking unimpressed, well aware of the times when her and Yoda’s arguments go beyond funny.  The troll was usually just as much to blame as the padawan.

“We were arguing about Xanatos and he told me something that really angered me and no one else knew.  Then he claimed that it was too dangerous for the Jedi to change their ways so I told him admittedly very unkindly, that his fear of the dark side would be the only thing that could lead him there.  I also may have said something about how he shouldn’t drag the rest of us down with him.” Arlie admits sheepishly.

“Arlie can you see how that could have been misconstrued as you accusing him of going dark side?” Micah asks seriously.

“I mean, yeah but that’s not how I meant it and he knew that!” Arlie claims certain she’s right, Micah nods at her.

“Hang on, are you telling me he confided something in you and you yelled at him?” Mace asks thinking over what she had said, she looks at him flabbergasted.

“He didn’t confide in me he…oh in the name of every bloody hell imaginable! I gotta go.” Arlie says realising he is right and running out of the room in search of Yoda.

“Well that was colourful.” Bant says after Arlie left, Mace and Micah exchange a look before Mace slumps in his seat and Micah rests his head on the table.

“Kids.” Garen says simply, they all look at him before laughter fills the room once more.

 

When Arlie at last finds the troll he is in the council chamber sitting alone, she comes and claims the seat next to him.

“Ambitious you are to take a council seat.” He tells her jokingly, she looks at him regretfully.

“You didn’t tell me what you did to yell at me.” She says getting straight to the point, “You did it because you blame yourself for what happened as much as I do, you feel you should have told someone.  You told me because you think I was right.” He inclines his head at her words hesitantly.

“Right you were, here with us he should be.”

“Yoda, it wasn’t your fault.  Even if one of us had pushed harder to make someone listen and help him, even if we had gone to him directly, we couldn’t have prevented any of it.  Maybe after he fell we could have handled things differently, I stand by my words as much as you stand by your actions.  We both need to accept that we could not have stopped it from happening to begin with though.”

“Kin all Jedi are, kin he was. Kin we have lost.” He tells her as his ears droop sadly, she debates for a moment before moving to kneel in front of him and hug him.

“I miss him too.” She tells him truthfully, he returns her hug and they sit that way for a while.

“A funeral we are having, light his pyre we will, body or no body.  Released tomorrow Qui-Gon is, requested for it tomorrow night he has.  Be there I hope you will be.”  Yoda tells her when they separate, then he pats her cheek and begins to walk out of the room.

“You know this doesn’t mean I like you.” She calls to him, he swats her arm with his gimmer stick, but both are smiling.

 

The next night Arlie watches as Qui-Gon lights the pyre, she stands by her Master feeling the loss as strongly as she did when she first heard Obi-Wan say he was dead.  She noticed Yoda standing alone behind Qui-Gon in his proper place based on tradition and for the first time she considered how lonely he must be, hundreds of years old he must have watched pyres burn for many friends. No, she thinks, many family members.  She breaks away from her Master and ignores the looks from other Jedi as she stands next to Yoda and takes his tiny hand.

“Breaking protocol you are.” He says as he looks into the fire, she sighs, he looks up at her, “Worth it, it is.” He tells her and squeezes her hand, she smiles at him before they both look back to the pyre and ignore the bewildered looks from other Masters, Knights and Padawans alike.  “Go to him you should.” Yoda says, it takes her a moment to follow his gaze and realise he means Master Jinn.

“I don’t know that he’d welcome it.” She says sadly, she really did miss the friendship she had been building with the man who had helped bring her into the order.

“Then as foolish as I have always said, you truly are.” She glares at him, stakes a deep steadying breath and walks forward to Qui-Gon taking his hand as she had the troll’s.  He looks down at her hesitating, she smiles at him reassuringly and opens her arms to him.  He steps in to hug her, tears roll down both their faces as they hold each other watching the pyre of the man they both cared for deeply burn.

Arlie then notices Obi-Wan standing off to the side on his own looking lost, she nudges the Master in her arms.

“Master Jinn, I think your Padawan needs you.” She tells him, he follows her line of sight and smiles at her before going to his own padawan leaving her in his place, suddenly self-conscious of standing in front of everyone, Arlie moves back down to her Master and stands between Micah and Mace, they both put an arm around her, Micah placing his other arm around Garen.  The four stand like that until the fire dies down and the final embers lose their glow.

 

 

A few days after the Pyre, Master Windu and his Padawan are tasked with welcoming the new Senator of Naboo to Coruscant for the first time, having nothing better to do while his Master recovered from an injury from their last mission, Obi-Wan was with them.  Garen and Micah were off on a mission on Dantooine.  The moment the Senator stepped out of his shuttle, Mace and Obi-Wan both tensed and Obi-Wan grabbed Mace’s hand holding on for dear life, Arlie was convinced she had seen him before somewhere but she couldn’t place it.

“I assume you are the Jedi sent to retrieve me and take me to the Senate Dome?” The man asks coming to a halt in front of the three, “I am Senator Sheev Palpatine of Naboo, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He says, hearing his name she remembered where she knew him from, the holo Mace carried with him.  This was his half-brother Sheev, Obi-Wan’s father and the man who got away with the murder of his wife.

“I am Padawan Arleia Skywalker and I assure you, the pleasure is all ours Senator.” Arlie says bowing to him respectfully.

 ** _“We need to stall him for a few minutes._** ** _”_** Master Windu tells her through the bond, she doesn’t question it.

“May I offer congratulations on behalf of the Jedi order for your successful election and subsequent promotion, Senator.” She continues without missing a beat.

“Thank you my dear, you must be one of the most polite children I have ever met Miss Skywalker.” Palpatine begins, she very successfully keeps the disdain off her face, instead appearing nervous but excited at him taking an interest in her.  If it looked odd that her companions had yet to speak, no one mentioned it.

“Padawan Skywalker.” Arlie corrects. Then Master Tahl exits the hovercraft that pulls up on the edge of the landing bay, Arlie could see the remnants of her using force enhanced speed to get there quickly though she showed no sign of being tired.

“Apologies for the interruption Senator, Master Windu.  Padawan your Master has requested your presence urgently.” She says to Obi-Wan who is still frozen at Mace’s side, he nods, shakily bows to both Mace and the Senator and follows Tahl who bows before taking his hand and leading him back to the vehicle she arrived in.

“Well then, shall we?” Mace asks finally speaking, Palpatine nods and the three move to the transport waiting for them.

 ** _“How did you get Master Tahl here?_** ** _”_** Arlie asks through their training bond.

**_“I have a pair-bond with Qui-Gon and told him someone needed to come collect his Padawan immediately with an excuse ready and that I_ ** **_’d explain later._ ** **_”_ **

**_“Will you though Master?_ ** **_”_ **

**_“That is up to Little Obi, not me._ ** **_”_ **

**_“I think he may be a bit too shaken to think clearly but I suppose we shall find out when we return._ ** **_”_ **

**_“Indeed, I appreciate you taking control back there Padawan, you never should have had to do that but I found myself at a loss for what to say, I just had to get Obi-Wan out of there._ ** **_”_ **

**_“You were putting your nephew first as any good Uncle would.  Though to be honest it took everything in me to stop from slapping the man, seriously he pretended not to even recognise either of you. Or worse, he actually didn_ ** **_’t._ ** **_”_ **

**_“Oh, he definitely recognised us._** ** _”_** Mace says no more the entire trip, Palpatine occasionally engaging Arlie in conversation, it becoming clear to her he was doing so to enrage her Master, she could feel his pride when she didn’t outwardly react to the seething rage that realization left within her. She simply breathed it out into the force, somehow amongst it all she found time to question what happened to those emotions when they were sent to the force.  Was it literal or more of a breathing exercise like her psychologists on Earth kept wanting her to try?

Once they were back in the temple after the most awkward trip to the senate dome she had ever had they headed straight for Qui-Gon’s quarters.  Obi-Wan was sobbing violently into Qui-Gon’s shirt, which was honestly a weird look with a 16-year-old, but Arlie knew that that kind of pain did not care how old you were, it would always bring you to your knees.

“Hell of a vision that kid must have had.” Tahl says beside Mace, scaring the bejeezus out of them both because they did not sense her presence.  She walks out once she’s said it, Mace and Arlie both realise she doesn’t believe it but was informing them of what Obi-Wan had told his Master.  Knowing they couldn’t help, the two ventured back to their quarters and sat on the ground looking at the holo projected by the device Mace put up on the coffee table.

“You all look so happy there.” Arlie dares to say after nearly an hour of silence and drinking of the bourbon that Arlie transported from the kitchen to the table with the force, for once Mace didn’t reprimand her.

“We were.” He replies his voice holding an unsettling emptiness.

That night when Garen and Micah returned from their mission and headed straight for Mace and Arlie’s quarters, they found Mace obviously drunk and sobbing while laying his head on his Padawan’s lap. Arlie was rubbing circles in her back and based on the glazed look in her eyes she was at least tipsy as well.  Micah knelt down beside Mace and put a hand on his back.

“Hey buddy, why don’t we get you to bed?” Micah asks, Mace reaches for him so Micah lifts him into his arms bridal style, showing some serious upper body strength given the position he was lifting from, and carried him to his bed.

“What happened Arlie?” Garen asks gently once the Masters had left.

“Today I was forced to look at the face of the devil, and smile.” Garen did not like the look in her eye that he now recognised was less from the alcohol she had consumed and more her being trapped in her own mind.  He reaches for her head and uses his thumb to rub soothing circles into the back of it.

“You’re home now Arls, your safe.”

“Nobody’s safe. Not anymore.”


	7. Knight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe beginnings are just an excuse not to dwell on the endings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer – Apart from story line and a few OCs, Star Wars is obviously, though sadly, not mine. Rights to Lucas, also there are references to a movie named Dinotopia and also to Harry Potter. I cannot quite remember where in the story they are so I’ll just add it every chapter. It talks about the code they have for life on Dinotopia, and I blatantly quote Hermione at some point.

“I’m sorry you two are what?!” Arlie yells at the two men, both of which she considers her Master, Garen meanwhile chokes on the caff he was chugging down, equally as shocked.

“We’re recommending you for knighting.” Micah replies chuckling at his padawans, he had adopted the girl as far as he was concerned and knew that Mace felt the same about Garen.

“Are you on crack?!” Arleia says continuing with her surprise born yelling. Garen looks confused.

“What does that even mean?” He asks not having a clue what she was talking about.

“Ummm equivalent equivalent, hang on they had a problem with it coz of the Hutts in the outer-rim, Spice! That’s it.” Arlie says victoriously smiling.  Micah and Garen both knew about her trip to another universe but did not know the specifics of what had happened there, most of the temple still thought she was raised by pirates much to her chagrin.  “Can we get back to the importance of my question?”

“We are not on spice Arlie, you saved Micah’s life on Yinchorr and performed admirably during the battle.  If not for you saving Micah’s life, Tahl would have died on her last mission. Furthermore, I find myself at a loss for what else I can teach you. You’re as good as me, if not better, with a lightsaber, you can meditate so deeply I sometimes wonder how you haven’t been absorbed into the force, and no one can doubt your skills as a diplomat.  We all know how much I’ve taken to getting you to tell me what to say when at a negotiating table when we are short on time and I can’t find the right words.” Mace tells her, using her own tactics against her as he takes on her ‘ice to a hothian’ voice.

“Well, I mean yeah but, knighting? I’m 13 for christ’s sake!” She calls indignantly, at this point Garen is laughing at her while her Masters sit there smirking at her inability to defend herself, though why she’s protesting even _she_ doesn’t know.  Actually, that’s a good point, why is she protesting?  “Tell you what, if you can sway Yoda and Master Poof, I’ll let you knight me.”

“You still gonna use that name I accidentally gave you that time I got drugged?” Garen asks _._

_Flash back_

_He and Micah had gone on what should have been a peaceful mission but ended with Micah_ _’s knee being damaged beyond repair and Garen high as a friggin kite.  He had entered the council chambers with Micah on crutches beside him, looked her in the eye and said_

_‘You should change your name to Arl Aia, it sounds like Arleia and if your lil bro is as force sensitiveness as you got then he_ _’ll be here too and then there_ _’ll be too Skywalkers. So he should be master Skywalker and you can be Master Aia no wait, Master Aa._ _’ He claimed, the entire council looked highly amused but also concerned as they did not yet have an explanation beyond the obvious observation of drugs._

_‘And what is the difference?_ _’ Arlie had asked trying not to laugh at him._

_‘It_ _’s all in the spelling Arlie, oh yeah and your name would be Arl so we could still call you Arlie._ _’_

_‘It_ _’s actually not a bad idea._ _’ Mace had agreed sounding quite surprised at the warped sense it made._

_‘Wouldn_ _’t be the first time I changed my name._ _’ she_ _’d replied._

_‘Well then, Padawan Aa would you please escort Padawan Muln to his quarters so he can sleep this off while we get an explanation from his Master?_ _’ Master Gallia had requested still amused._

_‘Dat_ _’s a good idea mastarr._ _’ Garen says nearly falling over before Arlie managed to grab him and stabilise him._

“Yeah, I think so, Knight Aa.  Though it will be annoying continuously telling people who have only seen it in writing that it’s pronounced Aya not Ah.” She tells him chuckling.  “I still don’t think they’ll agree though.”

“Arls you’re a twenty-three-year-old padawan…” Garen starts to say.

“They don’t know that Garen, they think I’m 13.” She reminds him.

“As I was saying, you are a padawan with the skills of a decorated Knight, they won’t turn it down.”

It has been four years since the funeral, Yoda and Arlie seem to have called a truce, for the most part.  There’s still the occasional quarrel but Yoda hadn’t threatened to remove her from the order in a while, nor had Arlie hit him in the head with his own gimmer stick since the first time a year ago.  Tahl had been temporarily blinded but, like Micah’s knee, Arlie had healed her using force-magic.  She was a favourite of Healer Terza’s now, occasionally calling her down to heal injuries that would have otherwise been permanent.   Arlie was trying to teach a few of the healers how to heal using force-magic but it was not going well so far, she was really wishing her mentor was around. Her mentor would be about five now, a concept that Arlie had somehow accepted and was no longer weird.

“I’ll be recommending Garen at the same time.” Micah says mockingly.

“I’m sorry your what now?” Garen asks with a huge grin on his face.

“Well you’re a nineteen-year-old padawan with the skills of a decorated initiate, decorated by the paint he accidentally spilt on himself, so they won’t turn you down. Seems to be the standard.”

“Padawan.” Mace says warningly, he didn’t have to very often but sometimes she’d forget to hold her tongue for a little too long.

“Actually, speaking of, can we do this soon like maybe today? Obi and Master Qui-Gon have that mission in three days and they’ll want to be here for this.” Arlie reminds them, she and Qui-Gon weren’t close like they once were, but she was still friends with Obi-Wan and thankfully, Qui-Gon was _definitely_ not avoiding her anymore.

That was how they ended up standing before part of the council as they stared open mouthed at them.

“Are you on spice?!” Master Poof yells surprising them all.  Arlie sends a smug grin to her Masters who both simultaneously roll their eyes at her,

“Well this is going well.” Bant says from the corner she’s standing in.

“Why are you even here?” Adi asks incredulously, Tahl was still on medical leave so Bant was generally just hanging around wanting to stay close to her former Master, but for some reason had come with the group before the council.  She’d been knighted after their last mission but did not want to go on her first mission until her Master had been fully cleared.

“I was bored and knew this would be entertaining Master.” Bant says bowing respectfully.

“I’ll deal with you later Knight Eerin. Master Windu, with the greatest amount of respect. Your Padawan is 13.” Master Billaba reminds him slowly as though making sure he was comprehending every word yet somehow not coming across overly condescendingly.  Given that she was Mace’s former padawan, that probably shouldn’t have surprised Arlie since it is a skill he shares in, though doesn’t often bother with around Garen and herself, he just _is_ condescending.

“Yes, I am aware Depa, as you pointed out she is my Padawan.  However, I think we can all agree she has never acted her age, and has grown a great deal since she joined us five years ago.  She’s the only Jedi alive that can use force-magic, is the best at combat in the temple, yes Micah I know she hasn’t beaten you but chickening out every time she challenges you hardly proves your superiority, and she’s one of the most capable negotiators I have ever met. More importantly, she doesn’t compromise her values in the face of diversity while simultaneously always taking the opinions of those around her into account before making a decision.  She has an in-depth understanding of galactic politics across most of the Republic and may I remind everyone of how she and Padawan Muln brought an end to the Battle on Yinchorr while getting every Jedi out of there alive.  If ever there were a padawan ready for knighting, she’s it.  I also don’t see how her age is relevant in the face of her experience, skill level and wisdom.” Mace tells them all having debated what to say all morning.  His padawan annoyingly refused to help, reminding him that the council would be able to tell and that he was the one who so desperately wanted to do this.

“She has been a bad influence on you as much as you’ve been a good influence on her.” Ki told him with a pointed glance at his padawan. “I vote in favour of the knighting of both Arl Aa and Garen Muln, mainly in reflection of their admirable actions during the battle of Yinchorr.”

“I also vote in favour but not for Yinchorr, the way they have conducted themselves while in temple and willingness to help out their fellow Jedi has shown their worthiness as much as any mission.” Adi Gallia says after a moments consideration, thinking of Arlie putting in time helping the healers and attempting to train them as well as Garen’s habit of going to the crèche whenever he can to help with the younglings.

“In favour I too vote, selfless they both are but pushed around they refuse to be. Young they still are but grow as knights they both will.” Yoda tells them as the other continue deliberating to themselves. Upon hearing Yoda’s assessment, all but one council member votes in favour, Yarael Poof has not yet cast a vote.

“Arleia, would you please tell us your thoughts on the dark side of the force, your answer will be my final consideration on this matter.” He tells them severely pissing off many members of the council though Yoda looks thoughtful, even Bant stands up straight to hear her speak as Arlie walks into the centre of the room. She debates with herself for a moment, she could give the answer she thought he would want to hear, that it was where evil dwelled, but in her heart she knew she must stand by her beliefs just as her Master and Yoda had spoken of her doing.

“It is a construct the Jedi have created, a part of the force most believe houses evil.  I believe that the force is not segregated into light and dark, that to believe so is ignorant and foolish.  The dark side is the nightmare of a child taken too seriously by those around them.  People will do as they wish and if they do something we consider evil, it will not be because the force has specifically influenced them into doing it.” She tells him leaving out her latest idea on the origin of such a belief.  She had been studying it since Xan’s funeral in an effort to understand.  Many thought it was an obsession born of grief, even her own Masters on occasion believed it.  Dooku was the only one to understand, his fascination with the Sith often leading to her asking him to help with researching a specific idea.

“Leaving something out you are.” Yoda notices and she silently curses the troll.

“It’s my belief that when we release our emotions into the force they remain there.  When someone reaches for the force with anger it is our anger they get in return, I believe it is this phenomenon that has led to the myth of the ‘dark side’.  I’ve found no evidence so far but it’s my latest line of research.”

“An interesting theory, however currently irrelevant. When you have more on the topic though, perhaps you should consider presenting it to the council.  In the meantime, Yarael, your vote please.” Plo Koon requests, almost the entire room held their breath as Master Poof waits a beat before answering.

“I vote in favour of the knighting of Arl Aa and Garen Muln and recommend they become a partnership based on how well they have proven they work together.” Master Poof tells them shocking everyone, Arlie and Garen look a little confused at each other. “If you’ll both kneel.”

“Don’t we still have to do the trials?” Garen asks bewildered.

“The first time your Masters have brought this up it is not.  After Yinchorr before us they came. Decided we did that trial enough Yinchorr had been, wait this long we requested your Masters do so that determine we could, how well you would recover.  Much death you held yourself accountable for but carry on admirably you have.” Yoda tells them, too surprised to say anything, the two simply kneeled. Bant opens the door and allows Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to enter.  Garen and Arlie look at each other as they realise the three had known this would happen.

Soon enough braids were cut, Arlie and Garen share another look, communicating silently as they had perfected over the years.

“Masters.” Arlie begins as Garen grabs one hand from each master and puts them next to each other as the two of them place their braids into both palms. “We think you both deserve these.”

“We realise only one of you can keep it each and we’d rather it be our assigned masters so this is really more symbolic but we want you to know that we recognise what both of you have done for us.” Garen continues as they bow to their Masters who are so shocked that they just bow back.

“Thank you padawans.” Micah says recovering first.

“Woohoo!” Bant yells from the corner, everyone turns to look at her. “Sorry.” She says not looking at all sorry.

“Opportune timing, we have a mission that we were going to send Master Windu and Knight Aa on but it will serve as a good first mission for the two of you.” Master Piell tells them, noticing the unsaid dismissal Obi-Wan, Master Jinn and Bant leave the room though if Bant wasn’t listening through the door Arlie would eat her lightsaber.

That afternoon, Arlie and Garen are in the hanger bay with their now former Masters.  They were to fly to Alderaan to help negotiate the return of Princess Breha Organa who had somehow gotten herself sold into slavery, it was not a subject she was looking forward to dealing with diplomatically.

“Okay, remember Arlie, until you gain a reputation people probably won’t take a 13-year-old Jedi Knight very seriously, don’t let them get away with it. And Garen, lay off the caff?” Micah requests as they are about the board the aircraft. Garen of course was piloting the thing, Arlie did not have a great history with these things.

“Arlie, I know this is a sore subject for you but try to remain calm and remember you are representing the Jedi order.” Mace tells her, “What is it Padawan?” He asks when he sees the apprehensive look on her face.

“Master, I heard Qui-Gon say that they’re mission would be on Naboo.” Arlie says knowing her Master would pick up on her meaning.  She still had nightmares about what Sheev could do with the power he now has.  They hadn’t talked about him since the night they met him on Coruscant but it was always on her mind, based on the way her Master would sometimes space out while looking out their window at the senate dome, it was on his too.

“Yes, the trade federation has a blockade in place around the planet that somehow they’ve done completely legally. Luckily their Senator was here on Coruscant at the time and can try to negotiate from outside.” Her Master tells her, and boy does she love his brilliant mind and amazing ability to tell her everything while seeming to say nothing.

“What of Queen Amidala?” She asks, now of course worried for her Master’s niece.  Mace and Arlie had watched the coronation on the holonet as she was crowned.  They had both been proud of her, over the years Arlie had begun thinking of Padmè and Obi-Wan as her own family and as far as she was concerned they were under her protection.

“She’s still on Naboo, I don’t doubt that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon will negotiate with the trade federation and she along with the planet will be released.” He says putting Obi-Wan first to remind her that he would not let his little sister remain in danger even if she didn’t know he was her brother.

“Yes, I’m sure they will.  One way or another the blockade will end soon enough, of that I’m certain.” Arlie tells her Master, she’s learnt to trust the force’s direction a lot more over the years but this certainty came from her own instincts, something she trusted way more than the force.

“Ooookay, weird fascination with the nobles of Naboo aside, let’s get going.  Faster we leave, faster we get back.” Garen tells her.

 

2 weeks later…

“I cannot believe you got us sold into slavery.” Arlie grumbles as they sit in a transport, force inhibitors around their necks. Where these lowlifes got them from was anyone’s guess.

“I said I was sorry like a hundred times already!” Garen cries, the transport stops next to a large freighter that Arlie _knew_ meant trouble.

“Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.” She starts saying repeatedly, no, not the time for a panic attack.  She hadn’t had one in over a year and she would not start again now!

“Deep breaths Arl, now what’s going on?” He asks when she’s calmer.

“I’ve seen that ship before, lived on it when I was a child before my mother and I were sold and sent to Tatooine.”

“And I’m guessing whoever owns it is not the nicest owner you ever had?”

“I’d rather we were sold to Jabba the Hutt than this guy.” Garen blows out a breath of air only to suck it back in when the ramp begins lowering.

“You two are not making it easy to stay calm.” Breha Organa says from beside her. “Nor are you doing a good job of rescuing mind.”

“Oh shut it princess, we have bigger problems now.” Arleia replies rudely.

“I hear you have Jedi for sale?” A man says as he walks down the ramp, he looks over and locks eyes with Arlie who automatically lowers her head and looks to the ground in recognition of superiority.

“Arlie, listen to me. You are a Jedi Knight not a slave and you will. Not. Submit to them. We will get out of here, but I need you to stay with me.” Garen tells her remembering a story he once heard in the crèche of ex-slaves turned decorated Jedi Masters, the bravest and strongest, submitting to their Masters when confronted with them again out of a natural instinct that they had not been able to fight.  If she slipped too far back into that mentality he’d be fighting on his own to get the three of them out.

“I’ll take them.  However much you want I’ll take them.” The man says referring to the three of them. Garen is more than a little shocked to hear that but when he notices the man looking at Arlie he realises she’s not the only one who remembers.

Fifteen minutes later, transactions complete and the three of them, and a few other slaves, were sat, still bound and inhibitors on the two Jedi, in a cargo hold when the man walks in and stand in front of them.  Arlie and the other slaves immediately look to the ground when he enters, but to Garen’s relief he hears Arlie curse at herself for it, it meant she was at least still fighting.

“Hello angel, I don’t know what you’ve done to your eyes but the colour suits you dear, now kneel before me.” The man tells her, she moves to comply before locking eyes with Garen, he must have been the reminder she needed because she smirks at him and stands instead.

“I prefer standing, bad knee, you know what that’s like right?”  She tells him lifting her chin in challenge, Garen thinks the comment about his knee was not as arbitrary as it seemed.  He smirks, something about the look being so familiar it sent shivers down Garen’s spine that he fought to ignore.

“Now now Arleia, none of that.  I know you, you always submit when those you care for are in danger.  Worked with your mother, I wonder if it will work with your friend.” He says before pointing a blaster at Garen who could do nothing but shake his head at Arlie.

“My name is Knight Aa of the Jedi Order and I will not submit to you.  These people and I are getting off this ship before you leave, I suggest you let us.” She replies to him her voice holding steady despite the fear she could feel building, she did as she had not done in a long time and worked to replace it with the anger she felt for the man.  Unfortunately, she forgot how deep that ran and ended up battling pure resentment and the strongest hatred she had ever known. Still her face remained blank.

“Angel the last time slaves attempted to escape from this ship you defended me, saved my life and helped me stop them.” He reminds her, Garen gulps beginning to have a bad feeling about who that man might be, the other slaves look at Arlie in disgust.

“You were in the middle of raping my mother, it was not you I was defending and the only reason I helped you is because I knew there was no way off of here when it’s in space and if I didn’t stop them before they reached what they thought were escape pods they’d have been spaced!” She says through clenched teeth.  Garen wishes he could somehow help her, support her or encourage her and decides the first thing they are doing when they are safe is creating a pair-bond like the one their masters have, not that it would help much with the inhibitors in place.

“You sound angry about what I did to your mother, are you forgetting that if I didn’t you wouldn’t exist?” The man tells her angrily as he grabs her wrist to pull her in closer, Garen moved to help her out of instinct when the blaster was pointed directly at his forehead again.

“No Father, I haven’t.” Arlie replies quietly, for a moment Garen was concerned before he saw a familiar purple light at her hands and realises she is trying to make him think he was winning, though how Arlie was using the force while wearing the inhibitor, he really had no idea.

“There’s a good angel.” The man says, Garen was really beginning to hate that word.  Arlie began moving her hands in a strange pattern over and over again as the light built up, by the time her father noticed what she was doing she moved her hands to grab both his wrists and suddenly they were gone.

“Alright everybody, the slavers from the planet have cleared off so everyone outside before the crew realise something’s happened.  Get out and run in every direction.” Garen yells responding to the chance to free them immediately. He felt more than heard the whisper in his head.

_Finish the mission Garen, go._

He didn’t want to, gods did he not want to, but he had to get Breha out of there.

“Come on your highness, time to run.” Garen says turning to the princess and grabbing her hand pulling her along as he ran out with the freed slaves.

“What about Knight Aa?!” She yelled as they ran across the sand, the ship started firing on the slaves as he knew it would which is why he told them to run in every direction.

“She’ll at the palace meet us.” Garen says adding please gods let her be at the palace in his head. So focused on running he didn’t even realise how badly he screwed up his sentence.

 

Arlie pulls herself and her father into the in-between she adjusts back to it in seconds while he flails.

“It’s interesting, it took me time, or well no it didn’t. My point is I adjusted to this place, but you dear Father, you never will. You are far too weak and this place will kill you slowly, yet in the space of a single moment.  Either way you don’t exist anymore, you won’t ever again.” She says to her father knowing she isn’t speaking but he will hear her. 

“What is this place?” He tries to say, she smiles at him cruelly.

“My safe haven from pirates and other universes and everything else, but for you? It’s your grave.  Goodbye father.” She says in a voice full of cruelty and a sense of death dripping from her words as she heads back to reality.  When she arrives it is night, she doesn’t know why it’s a different moment but she supposes she just isn’t as good as her mentor was.  She’s standing in the sand but by the looks of her surroundings it’s the same place she was only the ship has left.  Arlie takes a moment to breathe deeply, overcoming the fear brought up by seeing her father again before she begins the trek back to the palace, hoping Garen had heard her and completed the mission.  She rips the inhibitor off her neck, resisting the urge to throw it into the sand as she knows the Temple will need to see it.

When Arlie arrives at the palace she is directed to the Princess’s room where she finds Garen sticking his tongue down said Princess’s throat.  She clears her throat from the door, eyes turning to stone as they jump apart.

“Glad to see you were worried for me.” She says sounding way too calm given the odd feeling that was developing in her stomach, heavy and cold.

“Arlie this is not what it looks like.” Garen says quickly, Arlie purses her lips as she nods disbelievingly to his words.

“It’s not?” Breha asks looking equal parts embarrassed, disheartened, and annoyed. Garen looks extremely flustered as he rushes to reassure her.

“No, I mean yes I mean, it’s not not what it looks like.” He tells her wincing as he hears himself.

“Then which is it?” The Princess demands.

“Completely inappropriate is what it is.  Need I remind you Garen that we were supposed to be saving her from slavery not seducing her.  I’m happy you used your time so productively in my absence though.  My father’s gone by the way.  Just in case you were interested in the outcome of the mission that would have been finished days ago had I come alone.” Arlie snaps at him before stalking out.  She felt bad for lying to him about her father but really, what was she to say? ‘Oh him? yeah he’s dead.  I left him to die in a non-existent place, technically though he isn’t dead, he just doesn’t exist any longer.’

“Wait! Arlie!” Garen calls rushing out to catch up to her, “Where are you going?”

“To report to the council, you should be there but since you don’t appear to be taking your job seriously you can go spend some time with your new girlfriend if you’d prefer.”  She tells him unsure why she is so mad at him.

“She’s not my girlfriend!”

“So, you’re in the habit of snogging random girls you’ve just met and taking advantage of them when they’re probably traumatised and viewing you as some heroic knight.”

“Arlie, I am a heroic knight, literally.” He says with a smile, she glares at him and storms away to their transport to use the comm, he hurries after her as he realises that probably isn’t the thing to say.  She calls the Temple operator who patches her through since she wasn’t sure who to report to.

“Arlie.” Mace’s voice says as he answers his voice sounding tired and sad, she’s a little surprised at the informality given that she was told the entire council was present.

“We’ve got the Princess back in her room, a little too happily, and are heading back to Coruscant tonight.” She tells him immediately, earning her a glare from Garen, she glares right back but they both knew she wouldn’t tell and that they were perfectly capable of being professional.

“That’s great padawan but something has happened.” Micah tells her his voice sounding hollow.

“What?” Garen asks grabbing Arlie’s hand as they look at each other afraid of what would come next, Arlie’s earlier anger forgotten.  They had never found their Master sound so empty before, it worries them greatly.

“The Naboo mission, it was a success, the blockade is gone but… so is Qui-Gon.”  Mace tells them voice sombre in a way Arlie has only heard when he speaks of his brother.

“Obi?” Garen asks a solid minute of disbelieving silence later.

“He’s alive, he’s been knighted and has taken a padawan.” Mace says though he sounds no happier.

“How can he have taken a padawan?” Garen asks while Arlie remains silent, a look of horror on her face.

“He was supposed to be Qui-Gon’s padawan but…so Obi-Wan took him on.”

“We’ll be back by morning.” Arlie tells them in an emotionless voice that scared more than a few of the council members and Garen seeing as she had never been one to block her emotions, switch them out for others yes but never block them entirely.

“Arlie there’s one more thing, Queen Amidala called for a vote of no confidence during the whole debacle.” Mace tells her a touch of urgency to his voice, his fellow councillors look quite confused that he’s bringing that up. “They voted in Senator Palpatine, he’s now the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.”  Arlie’s blood turned to ice as whispers of destruction and death flooded her from the force.

“Thank you for updating me, also the council should be aware that a slavery ring somehow got hold of two force-inhibitors, we don’t know where they came from, if they have more, or who else may have them.”

“What happened?” Master Gallia asks horror creeping into her voice.

“We’ll give you a full report when we get back but if we want to make it by morning we need to get going.” Garen says wanting to get home not stand around talking about something he doesn’t even understand.

“Understood, see you when you arrive.” Micah says before the comm is shut off.

“Garen tell me honestly, can you fly this thing right now or are we asking the royal family for a favour?”

“I can fly, let’s just go home, I don’t think I’m quite welcome anymore anyway.” He tells her before walking to the cockpit and flying them away, Arlie sits in the co-pilots seat and tries to meditate but only succeeds in passing out from exhaustion.


	8. A Brother and A Debt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin turns up, and Micah is the bestest friend ever.

“…lie, we’re back.” Garen says gently shaking Arlie awake, she’s confused for a moment before she remembers the day before.

They head straight for the council chamber, many Jedi send sympathetic looks her way knowing that Qui-Gon and she had been close once, but wisely none stop her.

“Knight Aa, Knight Muln, welcome back, we waited for you.” Master Gallia says as soon as they walk in the door.

“Masters.” They both greet as they bow respectfully, aside from the councillors, Obi-Wan and a young child about 8 or 9 years-old are the only other people in the room.  “Waiting for us for what?” Garen asks.

“Anakin officially becoming my Padawan.” Obi-Wan answers, Arlie whips round to look at the kid, the kid with her brother’s name, wearing slave clothes, blonde hair, blue eyes, right age, holy cow.

“Anakin have a last name?” Arlie asks voice as even and emotionless as it was on the comm earlier. Obi smirks at her as he nods for his almost Padawan to answer.

“My name’s Anakin Skywalker Knight Aa.” Anakin tells her with a grin that told her his Master had told him exactly who she is, Arlie knows she should feel something but at that moment she couldn’t, if she did it would hurt so much and she wouldn’t fall apart in front of her brother.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi, you and I are going to have a serious discussion about appropriate times to comm someone and update them.” She says glaring icily at said Knight.

“I tried, you didn’t answer.”

“We were a little tied up.” Garen tells him getting himself glared at as well.

“My mum glares like that sometimes, not often though.” Anakin tells them looking a bit sad at the memory.

“Miss her already?” Garen asks kindly Anakin nods.

“Yeah but it’s alright, she said that I’d see her again.”

 _‘we will see each other again, I know it._ _’_ Arl blinks back sudden tears, still trying desperately not to feel as she looks to her little brother.

“You’re Arlie?  Mum told me about you, she said you were really brave, so brave that Watto was scared of you and that’s why he sold you.” Anakin tells her smiling widely, she smiles back hiding the pain she’s still too afraid to feel.

“I was a bit worried you wouldn’t know about me.” Arlie admits, Anakin steps closer and hugs her, she hugs him back.

“Of course I know you, Mum always talks about you coz she loves you and I love you also.”  He tells her seriously, Arlie hears Garen mutter something but she ignores him unsure about what he said.

“I love you too Ani.”

 

“Great I’m jealous of a nine-year-old.” Garen mutters quietly enough that only Obi hears it.

“Isn’t she a little young for you?” Obi-Wan asks smirking at his friend.

“Coming from the man in love with his Master that’s 35 years his senior.” Garen says without thinking, then his eyes widen as he realises what he said, “Shit I am so sorry Obi, I didn’t think.”

“It’s fine Garen.” Obi-Wan says but Garen knows it’s not.

“Why do you look sad Master Obi-Wan?” Anakin asks when he faces his Master, now being held by Arleia who’s looking at him simultaneously like he just hung the stars and kicked her puppy.

“I’m not sad Ani.” Obi-Wan tells him with a smile that wasn’t quite reassuring.

“You’re missing Master Jinn again, aren’t you?” Anakin asks trying to sound supportive, Arlie freezes and closes off again immediately before recognizing what she was doing and instead pushing her emotions into the force, she found she could breathe again and gained a supportive smile from Yoda of all people.  She put her brother onto the ground smiling at him before walking to her Master.

“Hello Master, it’s good to see you again.” She tells him as he hugs her.

“It’s good to see you too Arlie, you know that was supposed to be a quick mission.”

“Yes, well you can ask your idiot of a former padawan about that.” She says sending Garen a pointed look.

“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?  It’s not like I did it on purpose!”

“I told you, I specifically said do not agree to anything and what do you do? Nod at the first thing a pretty girl says to you.”

“That ‘pretty girl’ was the friggin Queen Arlie!  I didn’t think she would try and trade us for her daughter! All I did was accept a drink.”

“Get’s a drink with the queen, then with the princess…”

“DjjdjjdJDJDjD.” Garen says putting his hand over her mouth, “Thought we weren’t gonna mention that?”

“No, I just wasn’t gonna do it out of anger, this isn’t out of anger it’s amusement.”

“I still don’t know why you were so angry.”

“Because I was missing and that was how you spent the time.”

“I knew you’d be back.” Arlie just glares at him “Aaaand she’s angry again, I swear to gods all I have to do is breathe in your direction lately and your pissed at me.  This is what I get for being partnered with a hormonal teenaged girl.”  Garen says frustratedly.

“Hormonal?! You got me resold into slavery!  I have every right to be angry about that!” She yells at him.

“And what’s your excuse for before then?!”

“How about your inability to talk to everyone we met without flirting with them? I can count the number of people who didn’t ask you out, actively attempt to kiss you or proposition you in other ways on one hand.”

“So, your annoyed because I’m so damned charming?”

“No, I’m annoyed because you can’t keep it in your pants long enough to be professional.”

“OKAY THAT’S ENOUGH!” Micah yells over them. “Are you two going to be able to keep working together?” He asks once they are quiet, they gaze at him in confusion.

“Of course we are.” Arlie says at the same time Garen says “Why wouldn’t we?”

“I’m so done, you deal with this, they’re your kids too.” Micah says to Mace in complete exasperation.

“Oh, we’ve adopted them as children now?” He asks, Micah rolls his eyes.

“I think we did that that night 4 years ago.” Micah replies thinking of the impromptu 18th birthday make-up celebration.

“See if I knew that would happen I may have done nothing.” Mace replies with a smile.

“Hey!” Arlie calls while Garen laughs at her.

“Do they do this a lot?” Anakin asks with a huge grin on his face.

“Way too often, can we get back to officiating this please?” Obi-Wan calls.

“Sure thing Obi, Garen stop being an idiot and stand against the wall.” Arlie tells him strongly, Garen looks to Obi-Wan in dismay at the wording choice while Obi-Wan just smiles at him mockingly.

“I think our dear Garen may have a bit of a problem.” Micah says mirth dancing in his eyes as he whispers to Mace, Mace looks at him confused, Micah rolls his eyes at him.  “Not just oblivious with your own love life then.”

“What are you talking about Mic?” Micah sighs and goes to retake his seat leaving a very confused head of the order behind.

 

A few hours later there’s a welcome party for Anakin in Mace’s quarters because no one wanted to have this in the quarters Obi-Wan had shared with Qui-Gon.

“Why is it always my quarters that get over run?” Mace asks.

“Because Arlie asked and you have serious issues with saying no to her.” Garen answers as Anakin opens the door when Tahl and Bant arrive.  Anakin didn’t want to have kids his age invited because they would ask questions about Tatooine he didn’t want to answer, so he asked his sister and Master to invite their friends.

“Is he coming?” Obi-Wan asks Arlie in a corner of the room so that no one else would hear.

“I still don’t see why you didn’t ask.”

“Because he likes you better.”

“He’s your grandmaster.”

“And he never liked me as much as Xanatos.” Arlie glares at him.

“What is it with you guys, Xan used to say the same thing about Master Qui-Gon and Master Feemor.  When will you learn that the only ones comparing you to your Master’s former Padawans is yourself?”

“Who’s Xanatos?” Anakin asks having overheard them, unfortunately he spoke quite loudly and so all occupants of the room looked over.  Luckily the rooms occupants only consisted of Micah, Mace, Garen, Tahl, Bant, Reeft, Bellan, and Terza.

“He was Master Qui-Gon’s Padawan before I was.” Obi-Wan explains slowly.

“Sounded like you guys were friends, does that mean you and Master Jinn were friends?”  He asks Arlie not picking up on the sombre atmosphere his questions were creating.

“We…knew each other for a long time.” She tells her brother not wanting to discourage him asking questions.

“Where’s Xanatos now?  Has someone told him about Master Jinn?”  He asks in concern, that brought a small smile to Arlie’s face.  The entire room froze at his question, Arlie looked to Obi-Wan, both had no idea what to say.

“He died protecting us all from something dark and twisted.”  Garen says after a few moments in which no one spoke.

“Oh, sorry.” Anakin says finally noticing the looks on people faces, Arlie walked forward and knelt in front of him.

“Never apologise for asking questions little brother.  Not even when other people think you should stop.”

“Well then I have one more question.”

“What’s that?” Arlie asks bracing herself in case it was about Qui-Gon or Xan.

“Were you really raised by pirates?”  The entire room starts laughing while Arlie’s face twitches.

“Where did you even hear that?” She asks incredulously while Garen has actually fallen to the ground and has tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard.

“From him, he was telling some initiates.” Obi-Wan says pointing to the idiot rolling on the ground.

“DAMMIT GAREN IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG!”

“Only ha, took you, haha, five, hehehee.  F-five years.” He says laughing, Mace is laughing just as hard now which prompts more laughter from the others.

“No Ani, I was not raised by pirates. I just have an asshole of a best friend, which is a word you will never say.” She says poking his nose as she points to him.

“I grew up on Tatooine Arlie.”

“Fair point.” 

“I still can’t believe my big sister’s a Jedi Knight.” Anakin says with a proud grin, Arlie snickers.

“Youngest in recorded history too.” A man says from the doorway where the door was left open. “Do you people ever shut this door?” Arlie moves to greet him immediately.

“Never really see the point. Master Dooku, it is good to see you again.” She says as she bows.

“And you Padawan Skywalker, though I hear it is Knight Aa now.” He says bowing back to her.  She grins at his pleased tone of voice.

“Hello Grand-Master.” Obi-Wan says bowing.

“Pada, no, Knight Kenobi.  It is delightful to see you again.  I hear you have a Padawan as well, most irregular but I suppose there is little about the situation that isn’t.  Congratulations on both the Padawan and your Knighting.” Obi-Wan gestures for Anakin to come over.

“Padawan, this is Master Dooku, he was my Master’s Master.” Obi-Wan says his voice wavering very slightly.

“I’m so sorry.” Ani says while bowing. “It is an honour to meet you though.”

“Thank you child, I’m glad to see you have your sister’s manners.” Dooku tells him with a smile.

“The same sister that just called her best friend an a-s-s hole before telling me to never do the same?” Anakin questions, Dooku looks over at Arlie who looks sheepish but gestures to Garen who has picked himself up off the ground now but is very red in the face and drying tears from his cheeks.

“Yes well, sometimes the situation calls for it.”

 

They all had a great night together though conversation was originally quite a bit stilted with Dooku around, Arlie managed to smooth it all out a bit by joking around with him and encouraging others to do the same.  He wasn’t stuffy as they all thought, just a bit more old fashioned than they were used to.

_A face, a face she can_ _’t quite see, it_ _’s there, it_ _’s coming and it_ _’s angry._

_Dark, and cold, why is it always so cold?  She just wants to go home._

_‘You knew this would happen!_ _’ Obi yells_ _‘You did nothing! Again!_ _’_

_Black armour, mechanical breathing, how can someone feel like death?_

_‘I_ _’m trying to save you dammit!_ _’ Dooku yells,_ _‘I_ _’d rather die than join you!_ _’ she yells back._

_‘I loved you._ _” Garen says as he holds her, his lightsaber through her chest, she can_ _’t breathe._

_That face is haunting her, hunting her, it is her._ _‘You should never have come back!_ _’ She yells._

“…Awan! Arlie please answer me!” Mace is calling to her quietly, looking quite worried.

“Winni?” She asks groggily before shaking herself out of it, “Sorry, yes Master?”

“You spaced out for a few minutes there, you okay?” He asks.

“Yeah just daydreaming.”  He didn’t look that convinced.

“I’m gonna take Ani back, we’ve got a big day tomorrow.” Obi-Wan announces much to the dismay of his Padawan.

“Let us knows if you need anything.” Arlie tells him, he nods.  Anakin hugs her and Garen good bye before hurrying after his Master.

“Awww I got a hug! He’s way nicer than the older version.” Garen says when they had gone earning himself a hit to the back of the head from Mace.

“Well Skyskipper you were right, your brother did end up here.” Micah says with a smile as she throws a pillow at him.

“Master these two are mean, can we exchange them? I like Master Tahl and Bant or Bellan and Healer Terza better.” Arlie says laughing along with the others.

“I’d better be off as well, my father’s lawyer requested a meeting with me tomorrow afternoon so I have to leave early.” Dooku says as he stands surprising everyone except Arlie by mentioning something other than work.

“Well that can’t be good, you haven’t spoken to the man in over a decade.” Arlie says confused and a little worried.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I said to Yoda after I got the call.”

“Well, hopefully it will not be so long before we see each other again this time.” Arlie says as she bows to him.  Everyone says farewell to him before he turns back to Arlie and surprises her by hugging her.

“Keep your brother away from the Chancellor, do not trust him under any circumstances.” He says into her shoulder, her breath catches slightly but she recovers instantly. Then he leaves.

“You make weird friends.” Garen says when Arlie re-joins them, she takes a seat next to him on the floor.

“I know, sometimes I still can’t believe I haven’t ditched you yet.” He hits her, she deserves it.

“Well now that the kid’s gone, not that I don’t love your kid brother Arlie, how’s about we get the drinks out?” Micah suggests, Garen and Mace agree but the others look at him like he’s crazy, the other two as well when they don’t protest.  It takes Arlie a second, then she gets it and isn’t sure if she wants to laugh or yell.

“Obviously I will be drinking a non-alcoholic beverage but yeah sounds fun.” Arlie says not subtly.

“Yes, well obviously Arls.” Mace says catching on to her train of thought without even using the training bond that they had not yet dissolved.

“Arlieeeeee.” Micah begin before she laughs and nods.

“No! How many times do I have to tell you two it’s…” Mace begins only for Garen, Micah and Arlie to join in, “Frivolous use of the force.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to bite me?” Arlie replies as she makes the drinks and glasses appear on the coffee table.

“Good to know you guys are like this at home too and not just in council meetings.” Bant says as she laughs.

“It’s a wonder we get anything done.”

 

Two weeks later…

Arlie wakes to her comm chiming annoyingly, she hasn’t moved out of her Master’s Padawan room and isn’t planning to anytime soon.

“Hello.” She answers sleepily.

“Hi is this Arl Aa?” A voice asks.

“Depends who’s asking.” She responds as she checks the clo-no-chrono for the time. “And also, why you’re asking at 2nd hour.”

“I’m a bartender at Xth club, there is a man here, said his name’s Maze, that I can’t allow to leave on his own in good conscience, he said to call this number.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Arlie replies before opening the pair-bond she and Garen have built.

**_“Hey, wake up I need a pilot._ ** **_”_ **

**_“Why do you need a pilot this early in the morning and since when am I your taxi service?_ ** **_”_ **

**_“Since I asked and can_ ** **_’t fly in good circumstances let alone running on no sleep.  Look Mace needs me, he_ ** **_’s at some club and can_ ** **_’t get back on his own._ ** **_”_ **

**_“See you in the hanger bay in five._ ** **_”_ **

Arlie puts some casual clothes on and runs down to the hanger, she was further away than Garen so she isn’t surprised he got there first, she was more surprised than she should have been that Micah was there too.

“Don’t look at me like that he’s my best friend.” Micah says as he walks onto the transport Garen has started running.

“Come on, let’s go then.  I’ll go in and get him, you come in with me but wait until I call you over before joining us.  I’m not gonna be able to carry him if he can’t walk out on his own and Garen needs to stay with the transport.” Arlie tells him as they board.

“How did you plan on getting into the club Arls? May I remind you that you look 13?” Micah points out.

“So, when we get there, you’re my friend and Mace’s friend not a Jedi Master.  I’ll explain once we get him back home.” Micah gives her a calculating look as Garen flies out of the hanger.

“All right.”

 

When they get there Micah and Arlie head out of the transport and walk straight into the club, the bouncer doesn’t even look at them, nor does anyone else.

“Hi, I’m Arl Aa.” Arlie says to the bartender.

“He’s over here.” The man says, Micah has no idea what Arlie is doing to make no one care of her obvious age but she has to be doing it to the entire club at the same time, it shocks Micah how powerful she is and makes him wonder how long she’s been using the force, since he isn’t sure when she met her Mentor.

Arlie is led to her master who is slumped over the bar looking as though he’s a second or two away from passing out.

“Hey Winni, you ready to go home Master?” Arlie asks as she puts a hand on his back.

“Arlayyyyy, hiiii.” Mace slurs when he looks up at her.

“Come on, time to go.” She says waving Micah over as she realises this is not the place to ask her Master any questions, he comes up and wraps an arm around Mace’s waist while Arlie somehow manages to clear a path to the door.  Still Mace nearly falls every 2nd or 3rd step, Micah and Arlie exchange worried looks the entire time, this was not like him.

“Micah, _hiccup_ , your herrre.” He says with a goofy smile and totally glazed over eyes as he stumbles towards the door.

“Yeah buddy, I’m here.” Micah replies.  Eventually they manage to get him into the transport that Garen immediately starts flying home.

“Okay, you wanna tell me what’s going on Master?” Arlie asks when he’s seated.

“Whaa?” Was his response before he slumped forward and Micah and Arlie were forced to catch him.

“You know what on second thought, I’ll just ask when you wake up later today.” She decides, then Micah looks up quickly.

“Damn, we have a council meeting at 12th hour.” Micah remembers suddenly.

“You know it doesn’t seem to matter how long I’m here, that’s always gonna sound weird.” Arl tells him.

“What? Council meeting?”

“No, the way you measure your perception of time in this universe.” Arlie explains.

“I forget how long you’ve been alive sometimes. I don’t mean your age either, I mean in-between and everything.” Micah tells her.

“Shis too cute to be old.” Mace mumbles from where his head is on Micah’s shoulder, half asleep.

“Aww thanks Master.” Arlie says with a grin that didn’t quite cover up how worried about him she was.

When they get back to the temple Garen puts one of Mace’s arms around his shoulders and Micah does the same with his other arm while Arlie opens any doors in the way.  She offered to do to the Jedi what she did to the people in the club, much to Garen’s confusion, but Micah forbade it.

“Garnn.” Mace mumbles as he tries to look straight at the Knight in question.

“Yes Master?” Garen asks trying not to laugh at the look on his face as he tries to concentrate enough to talk.

“Don’t tell Mic but, I electrocuted the cat.” Mace says before giggling to himself which to be honest was just damn adorable.  His words confuse Arl and Garen, but Mic seems to know what he means and looks a little miffed.  Then Mace trips over his own feet and nearly falls before he just stops, it takes Micah and Garen a moment to see he was glowing a familiar purple, they both turn to see Arlie with her hands out and glowing as well.

“You had one job guys, stop him from falling.” Arlie says unimpressed.

“I was not expecting to see that when I woke up this morning.” Master Gallia says as she leaves her quarters, the quarters they happen to be standing in front of.  Micah and Garen quickly get Mace upright again.

“Wyooo.” He says as they do so. “Adddiiii, you kno I useta think you was really hot.” Mace says, Arlie facepalms while Garen laughs and Micah just looks to the sky as if asking for help, Adi raises an eyebrow at him.

“Used to? What changed?” She asks unsure if she should be flattered or insulted.

“I met him.” Mace says turning to gaze dreamily at Micah who looks at him like a deer caught in headlights.

“Okaaaay time for bed Master.” Arlie says as she pushes the others into moving again. “Goodnight Master Gallia, or morning or whatever.” She says bowing quickly before hurrying off, Adi shakes her head amused and begins her day.

At last they had Mace in bed, he had passed out the second he hit the pillow.  Micah briefly stroked his face affectionately before leaving the room with his padawans.

“So, am I the only one questioning if this was all some weird ass dream/nightmare?” Garen asks.

“Not the only one.” Arlie says while Micah says “You are not Padawan.”

“Well I’m going to get some more sleep.” Garen says before walking into Arlie’s room and immediately crashing on her bed.

“Figures.” Arlie says as Micah takes a seat on the couch. “How you doing old man?” She asks as she sits next to him.

“I am quite confused and very tired.” Micah replies honestly, Arlie chuckles a little.

“Trust me, I am familiar with confusion.”

“Well of course you are, you literally jumped between universes several times, have been in a place that doesn’t exist and sort of time-travelled.  If you weren’t used to confusion I’d be even more confused.” Arlie sighs.

“You can’t get used to confusion Mic, if you’re used to it you’re no longer confused.  And anyway, that’s not what I meant.” She tells him glancing in the direction of her room before looking down at her hands.

“Ahh, I was wondering when that was going to happen.” She looks at him quickly, he laughs. “Sweetheart I’ve known you since you were seventeen-years-old, I can see the signs even if your Master is oblivious, though I’m beginning to think he does it by choice.  He and I used to watch the way you, Garen and Xan would interact and laugh, we knew then that one day something would happen between either you and Garen or you and Xan, Mace just refuses to see it happening.”

“I was 8! How could Xan have thought of me that way at all?”

“He wasn’t an idiot, he could see past your physical age and knew there was more within, that’s what he cared for.  That’s what Garen cares for, far more than anything you present on the outside.  If you were to show what kind of person you are on the inside, you’d be surprised how quick things would change.  Not just with Garen either.” Micah smiles at her and she smiles back before cuddling into his side.  Arlie soon fell asleep but Micah stayed awake so that he could wake Mace up with enough time to get to the council meeting that was sure to be a trial in itself.  It left him with far more time to think than he’d have liked. 

 

2 hours before the council meeting, 7 hours after they went to bed, Micah wakes Arlie.

“Hey kid, I got to get your other Master up.  You coming for the interrogation?” He asks as she blinks awake.

“Yeah, let’s go find out what happened last night.” She responds as they both walk to Mace’s room.

They find him sprawled out on the bed still fast asleep, Arlie walks over and grabs his shoulder gently as she always does when waking him.

“Hmph, Padawan?”  He asks blearily, “Ouch.” He says putting a hand on his head and squinty from the light being let in through the doorway where Micah was still standing. “What happened?”

“We were kind hoping you could tell us.” Arlie responds softly, she sits next to him on the bed while Micah moves to sit on the other side.  “I got a call at 2 am, wait no, 2nd hour to come get you from the club you had all but passed out in.”  He blinks a few times.

“I uh, I remember going there and having a few drinks.  Horrendously loud but I figured no one would look for me there.” Mace says as he lays hid head back down and presses the heels of his palms into his forehead in an effort to relieve some of the pain.

“And why did you want to go drink somewhere on your own while desperately not wanting to be found?”  Micah asks evenly though anyone who looked at him could tell he was angry.

“I just wanted to be alone okay?! Don’t worry about it I’m fine.” Mace snaps bitterly, Micah glares at him.

“If you were fine this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Look it won’t happen again all right?” Mace says very obviously not willing to say more.

“Fine, I’ll see you in two hours.” Mic replies before walking out of the room and right out of the living quarters, through the door that was once again open, in a huff.

“Two hours?”

“Council meeting.”

“Well that sucks.” Arlie rolls her eyes at him before going to wake her best friend and kick him out of her room.

 

Two hours later Mace walks into the council chamber to find it empty aside from Adi who was reading through a datapad.

“Pretty small council meeting.” Mace says from the doorway. 

“Oh you didn’t hear?  Micah requested that we push it back a day.  Apparently Master Tahl has found something and wishes to present it in front of the council herself but she isn’t back until late tonight.  I thought it was odd since usually she’d just do a holocall but he insisted.”  She tells him without looking up.  He gets the feeling he’s been dismissed and starts awkwardly walking away. “I do hope Tahl is quite thankful for his efforts given that tomorrow would have been the only day off he’d get for the next month and a half and he’s given it up for her.” Adi calls as he walks out of the door, Mace curses under his breath realising he now owes both Tahl and Micah big time.  Especially Micah, force bless that man. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about not updating for so long! I mean I have heaps written, but I just kept forgetting. Smh so hard rn.


	9. Hard Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you wish people would just stop talking before you hear something you wished you didn't, other times you wish people would hurry up because you need to know if the conversation is going where you think it is.  
> Then there's the times when it's both, or maybe neither, when you're cringing as you listen but you also can't imagine not hearing it, and either way, they keep speaking and you know, by the end, nothing will be the same again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for not updating for several days. Have two chapters at once. Then hopefully it'll be every day like I keep planning it to be.

_‘I loved you._ _” Garen says as he holds her, his lightsaber through her chest, she can_ _’t breathe._

_That face is haunting her, hunting her, it is her._ _‘You should never have come back!_ _’ She yells._

“Arlie!” Bellan calls snapping her fingers in front of Arlie’s face.

“Sorry, could you please repeat that?” Arlie asks sheepishly.  Stupid vision or day dream or nightmare or whatever has been haunting her since she was 13!  It’s been seven years since her brother joined the order, luckily no repeats of the Drunken Mace incident have occurred.

“I said you’re turning 20 tomorrow so what do you want to do to celebrate?  I know tomorrow night you’ve got your usual secret celebration with your Master’s and Garen that you’ll never tell anyone about, but what about the rest of the day?” Bant asks impatiently having been trying to get the girl’s attention for a whole 3 minutes.

“I’ve no idea Bant, if you feel the need to do something go ahead and plan it but to be honest I’m good not celebrating it.”  Arlie replies, which is basically what she says every year anyway, Bant glares at her with no actual heat.

“Fine!  I will.  I’m gonna go drag Garen along to help.” Bant says as she moves to get up.

“Garen’s with Reeft, Bant, they went on a picnic or something romantic.”  Arlie replies surprising herself by not sounding utterly defeated, in fact she’s pretty excited.  She’s going to be brave and do something she’s been thinking about for a while now today, if only Bant would leave!

“Ahh, okay then.  I’ll see you later.” Bant replies, everyone was hesitant to discuss that relationship with her around.  Utterly ridiculous if you ask her, just because she broke a frying pan when he told her they were going on a date.  Not how it sounds!  She wasn’t hitting anything with it no matter what anyone says!  She just accidentally threw it out a window in surprise, it then got hit by someone’s hovering vehicle which will never stop being weird to her, and then fell into the bottom layers of Coruscant where it was lost forever.

“So Bellan…”  Arlie begins, she’d had a crush on the healer for a few months, now that she knew it wouldn’t hurt Garen she decided to go for it.

“Yeah Arl?”

“Do you wanna maybe go get dinner with me sometime?  I know a great restaurant that makes those amazing burger things you love but can hardly ever find.”  Bellan looks at her with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Arl Aa are you asking me out?”

“Depends, are you saying yes?  And, honestly, even if you aren’t, yes, I am.”  Bellan laughs happily, more than used to Arlie’s antics by this point.

“Yes, I would love to.  I’m on a mission in two days that should last about a week, how about the night after I get back?”

“Sounds perfect.” Arlie says with a smile before seeing the time, “Crap I’m meant to be meeting Master Dooku, I’m really sorry I gotta run.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”  Arlie calls as she rushes out of the commissary and heads to the library.  When she gets there she sees Dooku at a table and immediately heads over. “Master Dooku, it’s good to see you again.” She says bowing.

“And you Knight Aa.” He says in return, the two begin working on the research of the dark side he has been helping her with.

“Why are you so interested in the Sith?” She asks after they’ve been at it for an hour, debating points of view for half that time and reading in near silence the other, as was usual between them.

“Why are you so certain there is no dark side?” He counters swiftly, she looks up from the book she was reading from to give him a calculating look.

“I know what it’s like to have people only see one side of you because they refuse to try and understand the other.”  She replies, if the answer surprises him he doesn’t let it show.

“You speak as though the force is a sentient being.”

“It has all the attributes of one.” Arlie replies, he smiles as a thoughtful look clouds his eyes.

“If I’m ever to fight something, I’d appreciate knowing what it is I’m up against.  That’s why I study the Sith.  One should always have knowledge of their enemy.”

“You speak as though they still exist.” She says in mimicry of his own words, he smirks at her.

“Evil doesn’t die, people do.” Dooku says, “There is something I must tell you Arl.” He tells her when they begin packing up, she nods for him to continue, though he looks hesitant as he does, “I’m leaving the order.”

“What?!” She asks sitting up straight immediately, “Why?”

“Soon my usefulness will be at an end, I’d prefer to decide when that is and do it before there is blood on my hands.”  Something about his words made her feel he wasn’t talking about helping the Jedi and screwing up from old age.

“I’ll miss you.” She tells him shyly, unsure if he’d appreciate the sentiment, he smiles warmly at her, something even _she_ sees rarely.

“You’ll see me again Arleia Skywalker, may we meet on friendly terms.” He says as he bows before her.

_‘I_ _’m trying to save you dammit!_ _’ Dooku yells,_ _‘I_ _’d rather die than join you!_ _’ she yells back._

“And may our efforts for peace not be in vain.” She replies bowing in response.  He begins walking away before he turns back.  “Master Doooku.” She calls, he turns to face her, she walks over and hugs him. “Whatever you’ve gotten yourself into Master, get out, before it’s too late.”  She whispers into his shoulder.

“It already is.”  He responds gravely, then he begins to walk away before turning back one final time, “Arlie, the thing about sentient beings is, every one of them has a weakness.”  His words send a shiver down her spine, she knows that that sentence will have a profound influence on her life, she just wishes she knew why.  As he leaves the room she is overcome with the knowledge that the next time they meet, it will not be as friends. 

 

She heads back to her quarters that night and walks through the open door.  Inside Mace is sitting on the couch while Garen and Micah are arguing about something.

“Why are you so mad about this?!” Garen yells to his master who’s pacing back and forth throughout the room.

“Because you’re a twit that’s why!”

“It was seven years ago!”

“And you still haven’t stopped being a twit!”

“Okay, everybody calm down.” Arlie says as she enters the room, the arguing two look at her and immediately shut up, both looking guilty.  “What did I just walk into?”

“There’s a mission to Alderaan that Anakin and Obi-Wan are on.  The King specifically asked not to have the same knights as before, apparently one of the Knights defiled his daughter, Micah just found out.” Mace replies evenly.

“Yes, I remember that, I do believe I yelled at him sufficiently at the time though.” Arlie tells them giving Micah a pointed look to calm the hell down.

“I still don’t know why the hell you were so angry.” Garen mumbles.

“Yes, you do.” She replies with sad eyes, “So I have two pieces of news.” She says changing the subject when Garen’s expression turns guilty and her Masters begin looking uncomfortable.

“And they are?” Micah asks glad for the change in subject, much as he’d like his padawan to stop being an idiot, he respects that Garen is currently with Reeft.

“Well for one, Bellan and I are going in a date when she gets back from her next mission.” That was not the direction Micah was hoping the whole situation would go, he manages to smile instead of sigh though.

“That’s great Arlie! Bellan is a nice girl.”  He replies instead.

“That’s stupid Arls, she thinks your ten years younger than you are, are you just gonna lie to her your entire relationship?” Garen says looking at her like she’s an idiot, suddenly she feels like she’s been stabbed in the gut.  “Okay that came out harsher than I intended.” He admits sheepishly when both Masters glare at him and he sees the look of hurt on her face.

“No, I really don’t think it did.” Arlie replies and walks to her room.

“Wait, what’s the other news?” Garen yells earning him a slap on the back of the head by Micah and a glare making promises of pain from Mace.

“Dooku is leaving the order.” She replies shutting the door to her room.

 

_A face, a face she can_ _’t quite see, it_ _’s there, staring at her with sickly yellow eyes, it_ _’s climbing out of the in-between, and it_ _’s angry._

_Dark, and cold, why is it always so cold? She thought she melted this room to pieces but somehow she_ _’s trapped in it again, she just wants to go home._

_‘You knew this would happen!_ _’ Obi yells standing in the middle of the council chamber, he_ _’s looking directly at her as she sits in her council chair._ _‘You did nothing! Again!_ _’_

_Black armour, mechanical breathing, how can someone feel like death? He stares at her through the bars of her cell, his silence promising more pain than words could have, but he can_ _’t cause her more pain than he already has._

_‘I_ _’m trying to save you dammit!_ _’ Dooku yells over the noise of a building falling down around them,_ _‘I_ _’d rather die than join you!_ _’ She yells back from under the pillar that_ _’s fallen on her._

_‘I loved you._ _’ Garen says as he holds her, his lightsaber through her chest, she can_ _’t breathe.  Blood is pouring over her purple armour as Garen takes the baby from her pliable arms.  Water begins rising around her as he walks away.  Some part of her knows help isn_ _’t coming._

_That face is haunting her, hunting her, it is her._ _‘You should never have come back!_ _’ She yells._

Arlie lurches forwards as she wakes breathing heavily, she manages to calm down quickly and takes notice of her sweat soaked clothes and the lightsaber that somehow made its way into her hand.  That damn dream is getting more vivid as the years pass.

She’s meditated on it often and gotten nowhere, this is the first time a baby was involved though.  Was it her baby?  Was she trying to save it?  Trying to kill it?  At this point she’s not ruling anything out.  Her comm begins to chime, looking at it she sees she missed a call and realises that was probably what woke her.

“Aa.”

“Arl, it’s Anakin.” Her brother’s voice comes through the comm, every now and then the deepness of it would catch her by surprise and she had to remind herself that her baby brother is sixteen now not the nine-year-old she met seven years ago.    

“Hey little brother, what’s up?”  Something in the way he pauses after that worries her.

“Obi-Wan and I were on a mission and it went bad.  I really thought we were done for this time, but then a man came and saved us.  Obi-Wan was unconscious at the time but the man gave me a message for you and asked that I not mention his involvement to anyone else.  I figured I’d talk to you before making a decision about that.” He eventually replies, his voice shaky enough that she knows not much time has passed between that incident and now.

“What was the message?”

“He said ‘maybe we were both wrong, maybe I can be someone’s saviour after all.’”  Arlie stopped breathing… it couldn’t have been, Obi-Wan said he died.  Obi had watched him die! HE WAS DEAD! HE HAD TO BE! SHE COULDN’T DO THIS SHE CAN’T DO THIS NOT AGAIN NO HE’S DEAD HE’S DEAD HE’S DEAD HE’S DEAD HE’S DEAAAAAD! “Arl?!” Her brother calls, the fear in his voice enough to snap her out of her panic, at least for now.

“Don’t mention him.  If they realize you’re holding something back tell them Mace told you to.  Just don’t mention him, not yet, not until I’m sure.”  No one was ready to handle that, she’d just have to enact her pact with her Master they created ten years ago and have not yet put into practice.

_‘You knew this would happen!_ _’ Obi yells standing in the middle of the council chamber, he_ _’s looking directly at her as she sits in her council chair._ _‘You did nothing! Again!_ _’_

Oh gods, here was the panic again, deep breathes, just breathe.

“Are you sure?”  He asks uncertainly, he was known for being reckless and inventive in his interpretation of the rules, though not to her extent, but this was different.  This was looking into the eyes of the Jedi High Council and lying to them about what happened.  He could be kicked out of the order for this and she would be severely punished also.

“If you want to protect your Master then I need you to trust me.”  He was silent for a moment and she knew she was being cruel, but if Xanatos was…he wasn’t. But if people started believing otherwise then Obi-Wan could get into a lot of trouble.

“Alright, are you sure Master Windu will go along with this?”

“No hesitation.” She replies remembering the words they’d spoken many years before. “Now are you okay?  I mean really?”

“I dislocated my wrist but the guy healed it.”

“You, your Master, and I need to have a serious conversation about ‘the guy’ when you’re all back and in one piece.  How is your Master anyway?”

“He’s fine.  Had a slight concussion but the healers on Alderaan healed him.  We are nearly back on Coruscant, should be there by morning.”

“Okay, meet me in the library around lunch.”

“See you in a few hours then Sis.”

“Safe journey little Brother.”  After the commlink was deactivated, Arlie knew she would get no sleep.  She makes tea and goes to stand on the balcony, leaning against the railing as she had many times over the past thirteen years.  Gods she couldn’t believe it had been that long, it seemed like only yesterday she was playing poker with her Dad on Earth, yet it was so long ago she sometimes struggled to remember it and on very rare occasions wonders if it had all been an isolation and fear produced hallucination and she was still trapped inside that little room on the pirate ship…but no.  She wasn’t there, had destroyed that place a long time ago.  It was these dreams that made her question it, there were several flashes of different things but she’s sure that in one of them she’s in that room again.  Then again in one of them she’s a councillor and that’s just preposterous, not to mention, Garen would not ever harm her.  It was the dream that first made her seriously think on her feelings for the person she had thought was like a brother to her.  As it turns out, very different kind of love.  No matter what though he will always be her best friend, even if he was a total twat yesterday.

“Are you all right Padawan?” Micah asks from behind her, she jumps and drops her tea mug over the edge of the balcony.  “I’m going to take that as a no…”  He says after they both watched the tea mug fall from sight.

“I’m fine, Anakin woke me up to let me know he’d be back in the morning.  I couldn’t get back to sleep.”  Arl isn’t sure why she hasn’t told anyone about her dreams but she’s sure that at the very least her Masters and Brother-Padawan had worked it out even if they had no idea what the dreams were about.  “Not that I don’t enjoy your company Master, but what are you doing here?”

“Garen woke me up, said you needed company and he wasn’t sure you’d appreciate his at the moment.”  Micah says wincing a little at the last part.  Arlie smiles slightly at how in tune she and her best friend are with each other whilst also feeling guilty at having woken him.

“Idiot should know better.  I always welcome his company even if he is being a little toad.” She sighs and looks down at where her hands rested on the railing, “Truth is I’m not mad at him, I’m frustrated because he was right.  Don’t try to tell me he didn’t mean it Master, he did.  He was only being practical, I can’t lie to her trough an entire relationship assuming we ever even get past the first date.”

“So, what are you going to do?”  He asks her as he moves to stand next to her leaning his forearms on the rail.

“I’m going to tell her.”  Arl says surprising both herself and her Master. 

“Really?  Is that wise?  I mean I’ll support you either way you know that, but that’s a big revelation for a fledgling relationship.”  He asks her whilst looking rather astonished.

“The relationship may be new but she’s been my friend for years.  I don’t know if it’s wise Mic but I’m always going on to Ani about how we can’t be afraid to move forward because of things that may or may not occur, how can I do differently than what I’m expecting of him?”  He gives her a thoughtful look before smiling and looking back out at the skyline.

“You’ll make a great Master to a Padawan one day Arl.”  He tells her smiling.  She’s honestly more surprised by the name than what he said, when did he start thinking of her by her new name?  Actually now that she thought of it she had been thinking of herself as Arl Aa for a long time too.  Sometime in the past seven years it had become instinct to introduce herself as such, she couldn’t remember the last time anyone referred to her as Arleia Skywalker, not even herself or her family…not that they were family.  They were her Masters and her idiotic best friend…right?  Hang on did he say padawan?!

“Wow wow wow, hold up, nope, no one ever said anything about taking a Padawan.  Can you imagine me doing that? I’d screw the kid up so badly they’d end up liking the Troll!” Micah starts laughing, hard.  After a moment, she can’t help but join in.  When the laughter subsided Micah looks at her with a serious expression.

“I’m retiring from the council today Padawan.” He tells her, she looks at him in poorly hidden shock.

“You’re what?!  Master you worked so hard to get there and you do a great job!”

“I know and I think a part of me will even miss it, force knows why, but I don’t believe it’s the right place for me to be anymore.” Arl puts her hand on his in a gesture of comfort she never offers to anyone outside their quartet and her brother.

“What will you do?”  She asks knowing he’ll have thought this through.

“Either go back on missions or take over the combat class for the younglings I think, depends on where the council believes I’ll be of most use.” She nods knowing now that he’s made up his mind on this.

“Will you take another padawan?” He looks shocked at her.

“It honestly hadn’t occurred to me to do so, I never wanted to take a Padawan after Garen because the council took up too much of my time but now…I’m not sure.  I suppose it will depend on if I meet the right Initiate.” She smiles at him.

“A very diplomatic answer, they should definitely get you teaching, the initiates could learn a thing or two of diplomacy.” He looks at her incredulous, “Oh don’t give me that look!  I can diplomat, I just don’t bother.  This is my home, I’ll be as obstinate as I please.  Besides, I use negotiations to get my way a lot of the time.”

“Yet you always seem to know when to stop giving them more and just put your foot down.  Unlike when you were a child, you never fail to be reasonable and hear another’s point of view, actually take it into account when re-deciding yours.  Most importantly you refuse to simply stick your head in the sand when a controversial issue comes up on the agenda.”

“What are you saying Mic?” She asks him suspiciously.

“I’m saying that you were a Council Padawan from the moment you arrived, and not just any council member, but the head of the order.  You know how things work, better than most, and you’ve never been afraid to stand up to the people in that room when you know in your heart they are wrong.  You don’t compromise your values in order to follow rules and you care deeply about the people the council makes decisions for, even if you wish you didn’t.  I’m saying that if anyone should take my seat on the council, it’s you Arlie.” He tells her while looking her in the eyes so she knows he’s serious, her eyes go wide as she fully understands what he is saying.

“You’re naming me your successor?”

“There’s no one more qualified.”

“Yes, there is Master, there’s half a temple of people far more qualified than I am!”  Her master sighs.

“You can turn the position down if you wish, but I don’t know of anyone else that will stand up for the Jedi as individuals and not just an organisation for the Republic to do with as they wish.  The council has lost sight of that, you never will.”  They are silent for a while as Arlie thinks it over, then she looks at him in all serious.

“This is you getting back at me for all the times I laughed at you and Winni when you had to go party with politicians isn’t it?”

“Perish the thought.” He replies slapping a hand over his heart dramatically.  They both descend into laughter once more.

 

2 hours later Mace was about to leave for the council meeting regarding the incident on Alderaan.

“Master, this is going to sound really weird but I need you to do something for me.”  Arlie says just before he leaves, she closes the door so no one will hear since it had been left open as always.

“What is it?” Mace asks sensing the seriousness of the situation, his Padawan seemed panicked, though no one that didn’t know her well would have noticed it.

“If, during the council meeting, Anakin says you told him to do something that you didn’t, go with it.” Arlie explains, he’s about to question what the flipping frig she’s on about when she holds up a finger to shush him, “Trust me, please.”  He looks shocked, neither of them had had a suitable reason to invoke the pact yet but he had never ever forgotten it, so he nods.

“No hesitation.” He replies, she looks relieved and thankful as he leaves for the meeting wondering what the hell was so important that she did that.  He wasn’t mad by any means, this was exactly what the pact was for, but he was worried.  Only under dire circumstances they had agreed, so what was so dire now that she needed him to lie to the council, that she needed Anakin to?

 

When Anakin and his Master walk into the chamber, Mace nods to Ani in what looked to be a welcoming gesture, but the two knew it to be much more.  Anakin smiled slightly and nodded back.

The meeting passes without incident despite Anakin appearing to hold something back, he suspects he only noticed because he was watching for something out of the ordinary.  Then at the end of the meeting, Micah says he has something to announce.

“I’m making my official statement of my intention to step down from my council seat and name a successor to take my place.”  You could have heard a pin drop in that moment, evidently Micah had forgotten to inform Mace of his decision prior to the council meeting…woops!

“Uhh, should we go?” Anakin asks referring to he and his Master both of whom look horribly out of place in that moment.

“You are dismissed.” Master Poof snaps, too absorbed in his shock to not be rude, that being said he probably wouldn’t have bothered anyway.  The two simply bow and leave the room.

“How long have you been thinking about this?” Master Gallia asks softly, still easily heard over the quiet of the room.

“I made the decision a year ago, it just didn’t feel like the right time, now it does.”  They spend time attempting to convince him to stay as he calmly refuses, never losing his tranquillity as he had expected this reaction entirely.

“Name a successor you must, if change your mind we cannot.”  Yoda says after a few minutes of pointless arguments.  The councillors seemed to remember their jobs after that and accept that this was happening, they may not like it but they are Jedi, they adapt, or at least they are meant to.

“I name Knight Arl Aa as my successor.” He says, some seem shocked, some saw it coming, others just aren’t surprised at the choice.  Mace, who had yet to say anything at all, did not react in the slightest.

“Impossible, there’s never been a Knight on the council!” Master Tiin tells him disgruntledly.

“Well then, I suppose you will just have to grant her the title of Master, she’s more than earned it during the seven years she’s been a Knight.”  Micah replies slyly, there are varying looks of shock around the room, Yoda looks unsurprised but severely put out as though he knew that was coming but hates that it happened anyway.  Micah looks each one in the eyes as though daring them to do otherwise, Master Mundi rolls his eyes at them all, including him.

“Unless someone can give me a reason that is sound in logic so much so that the Knight in question could not refute it, the motion carries and the dual ceremony will take place tomorrow.  Padawan Skywalker and his Master may be in attendance as can Knight Muln but otherwise Jedi will have to wait for a public celebration hosted by one of you.  I’ll not have this chamber over run by excited young Knights.  Now, I have a padawan in the healer’s wing that I must go chastised, Master Windu if you will.”  Ki-Adi tells them all before looking expectantly at a still silent Mace, who nods.

“Of course, meeting adjourned.” He says, immediately councillors begin filing out, Yarael and Saesee glaring at Mundi’s back like children whose friend tattled on them.

Mace and Micah by silent agreement both walk back to Micah’s place, knowing that if the padawans are going to be in either of their quarters, it will be Mace’s.

“You couldn’t have warned me?!” Mace yells as soon as they enter and, for once, shut the door.

“You’d have tried to talk me out of it!” Micah yells back.

“Of course I would have, we need you on that council Micah!”

“No!  You want me on that council!  I’m not of use on it and haven’t been in a while.  It needs fresh eyes, it needs our padawan!”

“What makes you think she’ll even accept? She hates the council almost as much as she hates Yoda!”

“She’s grown a lot since their little tiffs of her youth, besides, she didn’t seem totally against it when I mentioned it last night.” Micah says at a much more reasonable volume, Mace just stares at him slack jawed.

“She knew about this too?!  Did the entire bloody temple know but me?!” Mace asks incredulously while still yelling.

“NO! and I only told her because it directly affects her!  Look Mace, I get it, I should have mentioned it.  But I made my decision and nothing was going to change that, I just thought if you found out in front of the council you’d be forced to deal with it professionally and you’d process better.”

“I really wish I had an argument for that but even if I don’t I’m still angry.” Mace tells him fiercely, Micah honest to gods giggles, “What?!” Mace asks severely pissed off that his best friend is laughing at his anger.

“I’m sorry just, your supremely angry face is kind of adorable when mixed with your floundering face.” Micah replies, still chuckling a bit.

“I…don’t know how to respond to that.” Mace says, a slight blush to his cheeks.

“You know, we used to be good Jedi.” Micah says quietly giving Mace whiplash from the sudden change in topic.

“What do you mean used to be?” He asks confused.

“Well, before we adopted Arlie…”

“We didn’t adopt her and they aren’t actually our kids.”

“…we didn’t do anger or strong emotions at all.  We were good Jedi, we released it into the force.  Now we deal with our emotions and express them like people.  Sometimes I think it’s a weakness like we were taught, but then I see Jedi standing at pyres with no support because they have no attachments.  I see them unable to mourn and I see them break because they don’t know how to deal with emotion.  I think they are the ones with a weakness, one far too easy to exploit.”

“Are you saying we’re your attachments?” Mace asks with a smirk, Micah looks at him with far too serious eyes.

“You aren’t just attachments, you’re my kin, I love you guys.  I love _you_ Mace.  Maybe that makes me a bad Jedi but when faced with the possibility of dying, I find myself having more to live for and fight for, more purpose than other Jedi.  How can that be bad?” Micah asks, it’s clear to Mace that this is something that’s been bothering Micah for a while.

“You think you’re a bad Jedi for loving us?” Mace asks purposefully not adding on the ‘for loving me?’ that was supposed to end that sentence, he’s pretty sure Mic heard it anyway.

“I don’t know, I feel like I’m betraying the order.”

“Is that why you stood down?”

“Part of it I guess, how am I supposed to help run something I’m actively disobeying?” Micah asks sounding far too defeated.

“Micah, Jedi fall in love sometimes, it may be rare and frowned upon by some, but it happens.  Even to council members, like Adi with Qui-Gon many years ago and like, li-like me.” Mace tells him, Micah looks up at his face.

“Like you?” Micah asks careful not to get his hopes up.  Then Mace smiles at him in a way he’s felt on his face every time he’s looked at the man for over a decade and he knows, in that moment he knows he is loved.  He steps forward into Mace’s space, reaches up and kisses the lips he’s been dreaming of kissing for many, many years.  Mace didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around his beloved and pull him closer, it wasn’t an overly passionate one, but it was sweet and exactly what they both needed.  When they break apart he leans his forehead against Mace’s and breathes in the scent of the man who became his first true attachment, “I love you Mace.”

“I love you too Mic.”

 

 

Meanwhile in the Library…

Obi-Wan and Anakin walk in and quickly go to the alcove Arlie and Anakin had been using for private conversations for years.  They find her waiting for them, leaning against the wall and looking very unimpressed.

“Arlie!” Anakin calls with a relieved smile running forward and hugging his sister who returns it with a smile.

“Hey Ani, Obi-Wan.”  She says in greeting with a short nod in his direction, he seems confused.

“One of you want to tell me why we’re meeting in a largely abandoned part of the library?” Obi-Wan asks, it was true that only people doing research into the finances of Coruscant’s governing body from 100-150 years ago would be in this section, as such it was scarcely visited and was the perfect spot for this conversation since she refused to go to their quarters in the entire time the two had known her.  Qui-Gon had known why, had warned Obi-Wan never to push her on it, but had never explained why, Obi figured that meant it had something to do with Xanatos though he wasn’t quite sure how close Arlie and Xan had been.  To the best of his knowledge, Qui-Gon had never been all that close to Arlie either.

“Anakin, would you please describe the man who saved you to dear Little Obi?” Arlie asks voice full of malice, she’s very scared that she knows exactly where this conversation is going to go, she will not believe it until Obi-Wan says the words though.

“Anakin…what man?” Obi asks looking rather unimpressed, “Anakin Skywalker did you just lie to the council?! Did you tell him to do this!?” Arlie glares at him, he shuts up.

“Anakin, describe him.”  Arl says shortly, Anakin swallows before beginning to describe him.

“Um, tall, long black hair, blue eyes.  I think he was a Jedi, or at least had a similar fighting style to one.  He was wearing all black and he, he said he owed it to Qui-Gon to keep you safe.  Then he gave me the message for you Arl, he healed me and then asked that I not tell the council of him.”

“Long black hair, tall, blue eyed, knows Qui-Gon and that message he gave me, there’s only one person that could have sent it.  He supposedly died a very long time ago.  You wanna tell me how that’s possible?” Obi-Wan looked to be about to deny knowing anything about it when she stepped right up into his space.  “Obi-Wan I told Anakin to lie, not because of the possibility he was alive, but because of the consequences such a possibility could have on you.  I invoked a pact with my Master to get him to go with it no questions asked and risked his place in the order, Anakin’s place in the order, and mine.  You had best not be about to lie to me.”  Obi-Wan visibly deflated as he runs his hand through his hair in an uncharacteristic show of stress, when he looks to them again he appears more like a frightened and wrung out child than the seasoned Knight he truly is.

“Xanatos is alive.”


	10. Norman's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A History lesson with an unfortunate ending...

It’s been three years since Arl became a councillor, sometimes everyone hated Micah for naming her his successor, including Mace. When told so, Micah would simply look at them, smile and tell them that the best was still to come.  It did not reassure anyone.

Things had gotten rather tense between Obi-Wan and Arlie since she found out Xanatos was still alive, that he’d lied to them all using the stress, crashing adrenaline and fear to cover the lie in the force.

She doesn’t think she’ll ever forget the moment she found out the truth.

_“Xanatos is alive._ _”_

_“Jesus Christ Obi-Wan._ _” Arlie said knowing it to be true but still unable to believe it.  It was exactly what she hated the council, specifically the troll, for doing, so she resolutely accepted the information and chose to move forward with it._ _“Tell me what happened, please I need to know._ _” She asked as the anger drained from her entire being._

_“We were on the catwalks, Qui-Gon was unconscious and Xanatos began walking backwards, dropped his lightsaber, his eyes went blue and he was muttering to himself as you know.  He told me to tell Qui-Gon that he was sorry then he turned about to step off of the catwalk into the acid below when I called out to him._ _”_

_[Flashback in a flashback_ _…_

_“XANATOS WAIT!_ _” Obi-Wan called stopping his brother-padawan just before it was too late._ _“Arlie needs you.  Qui-Gon needs you, it_ _’s not too late.  You can come home._ _” Xan scoffs at him._

_“My dear Brother-Padawan, I am almost genuinely sorry to say that it is far too late for that.  I can_ _’t ever make up for what I_ _’ve done, but I can make sure that I never hurt them again._ _”_

_“You don_ _’t have to die to do that!_ _”_

_“GODS OBI-WAN DON_ _’T YOU UNDERSTAND!? I TRIED TO KILL HIM! MY MASTER! MY OWN DAMN MASTER! I THREATENED TO KILL THE GIRL I BROUGHT IN, SHE WAS MY RESPONSIBILITY! I WAS HER SAVIOUR AND I BETRAYED HER! I BETRAYED EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER CARED FOR ME!_ _”_

_“YOU THINK DYING AND RUNNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES WILL CHANGE THAT!? ALL IT DOES IS MAKE YOU A COWARD!_ _” Obi yells breathing heavily._ _“So, you can jump in the force damned tank if you really want, but don_ _’t think it is anything other than your own cowardice driving you to do so.  If you really want to help them then live, keep them safe even if you can_ _’t go home._ _” Xanatos looks at him, looking as drained and wary as Obi feels._

_“How?_ _”_

_“You walk away, run, hide for a while.  I_ _’ll tell them you jumped in, stay off of their radar and help out how you can.  You owe Qui-Gon that, you owe Arleia more than that.  She looked up to you, you were her safe place, her rock, and you took that all from her.  You owe her the chance to forgive you, owe her your attempt to earn it even if she doesn_ _’t ever know._ _” Xanatos and Obi-Wan stare at each other in a disbelieving silence for a while._

_“If they ever find out you lied about this, you will be kicked out of the order or, at the very least, severely punished._ _” Obi-Wan smiles at him, the kind of warm smile reserved for those considered family, which made no sense since Obi-Wan hadn_ _’t known Xanatos in any kind of real way even when he was a Jedi._

_“I will tell them that the dark-Jedi died here, so long as you swear that he has._ _”_

_“Why?_ _”_

_“Qui-Gon believed in you. That_ _’s enough for me to give you a choice.  But if you betray me, I will make sure that I am the one to put you down._ _”  Xanatos thinks for a moment before glancing at Qui-Gon on the ground, he goes over and kisses his former Master on the forehead whispering a quiet apology._

_“If you need me, I_ _’ll be there._ _” Was all Xanatos said before walking off, Obi-Wan wasn_ _’t sure if he meant Obi or Qui but he got the feeling that it meant the same either way._

_…End of flashback in flashback]_

_“How could you not tell me?_ _” Arlie asks after a few tense moments of silence._

_“I didn_ _’t even tell my Master, that was the way it had to be if Xanatos had any hope of survival!_ _” Arl couldn_ _’t argue against that._ _“Now listen, we can_ _’t ever talk about this again, and you both have to pretend you don_ _’t know.  If the truth is ever found out I will not have you two punished for a decision_ I _made._ _” Arlie and Anakin both nodded though neither appeared happy about it._

_“One more thing, have you seen him since?_ _”_

_“No, no contact.  Haven_ _’t seen him around but I wouldn_ _’t be surprised if today was not the first time he_ _’d helped us._ _”_

_“Ani, how did he seem?_ _” Arl asks her brother, Anakin looks quite uncomfortable._

_“You ever see Mum when she talks about my father, or rather, avoids talking about him?_ _” Anakin asks, she nods slowly,_ _“He looks like that._ _”  Arlie feels herself beginning to cry as she leans against the wall bending forward, hands on her knees._

She had thought she was over what happened with Xanatos until that moment, now she knew she never would be.  Three years and only silence, by the gods she missed him.

“Hey, I thought we agreed no more brooding?” Bellan reminds her girlfriend as she walks into Mace’s apartment.  Arlie had moved out and in with Bellan year before hand, but they spent a lot of time in her former Master’s quarters anyway.  Tonight, the group was having dinner together to celebrate Mace and Micah’s anniversary and the anniversary of Arlie becoming both a Master and a councillor, she didn’t think that particular thing was worth celebrating but she was overruled.

“I’m not brooding.” Arlie denies lamely earning her an incredulous look from both her girlfriend and her best friend who was just walking through the permanently open door.  “Why is that door even there?”

“Force knows, now stop changing the subject.  That is your brooding face, what’s wrong?” Bellan asks in concern as she wraps her arms around her beloved.

“It’s nothing love, just thinking about somethings that I thought would have bitten me in the ass by now and haven’t.” Bellan rolls her eyes at her in an adoring way.

“Stop looking for trouble where there is none, everything is okay right now, worry about stuff when something happens to warrant it.”  Mace comes rushing into the room at that moment, not at all surprised to find people already here even though neither he nor Micah were home.  Micah had moved in with Mace leaving Garen with his old apartment which Reeft had soon been invited to move into, an invitation that was happily accepted.

“Arl, something’s happened.”

“You jinxed that, you know that right?” Garen asks Bellan who nods grimacing as Arlie lets loose a long-suffering sigh.

“What’s happened?”

“A failed attempted assassination on Senator Amidala’s life on the diplomatic landing pad ten minutes ago.” He says, people that didn’t know him well would have seen an impartial Jedi master, unfortunately everyone in the room knew him well and could all see clear as day how scared the mere thought of it had him, though only Arlie knew why.  “We’ve called an emergency council meeting.”

“Dinner’s going to have to wait until later guys.” Arl says before leaving with her former Master, the two immediately head to the council room.

 

“The Senator has requested our assistance, we should send a small Jedi contingent to protect her.” Master Gallia suggests after they had all been briefed.

“The Jedi are supposed to be a neutral body Master Gallia, we cannot be seen as allying ourselves with the Naboo.”  Master Poof reminds her harshly, Arlie looks at him like he’s an idiot leading Mace to utter a sigh even before his dear former Padawan had even begun talking.

“Master Poof we _are_ the Naboo’s allies.  That’s what the Republic is, an alliance.  We are supposed to keep the peace, whoever did this broke the law which means protecting her isn’t breaking neutrality it’s protecting the Republic as we are supposed to.” Arl tells him, the past three years had taught her a lot, how to deal with Yarael Poof was not one of those things.

“We are peacekeepers of the galaxy, not judicial, it’s not our job to uphold the law Master Aa, it’s our job to protect the Republic as a whole.”  Every member of the council mutually and silently decided to just sit back and let Arlie deal with him, she was the only one who could ever make him see reason and it was better just to let her go.

“If we let this go it sets a bad precedent that the Jedi do not care.  That we will allow our most sacred laws, those that protect life, to be broken and we will ignore a plea for help.  It is every citizens job to uphold the law, that’s how a law works. Just as it is every Jedi’s job to uphold the Jedi Code.  You want us to protect the Republic?  Start with her.  She’s a major political player right now, if a Senator is assassinated after asking the Jedi for help, do you really believe people will continue to think the Jedi can protect them?” Yarael looks increasingly uncomfortable as she talks, knowing he had already lost.

“Then who do you suggest we send?”  That was the best they would get out of him and they all knew it, he wouldn’t vocally back down but he was no longer disagreeing.

“I would suggest sending Jedi she is familiar with.  It may have been ten years but the last Jedi she worked with were Knight Kenobi and Padawan Skywalker.”  Arlie suggests, she’d have preferred putting Garen on the task, he would have kept her well informed but the aforementioned padawanship made more sense, her brother would be more than willing to tell her everything anyway.

“I agree with Master Aa’s proposal, if the Jedi are to protect her then we should send people that will make Senator Amidala feel safe and are competent enough to keep her so.” Master Mundi tells them all, several murmurs of agreement went around and soon the decision was official.

“Inform them you should.” Yoda says looking to Master Aa, “Be there within the hour they must.”

 

When Mace and Arlie get home they see everyone sitting around the coffee table on the floor, Arlie seriously questions why there is even a couch, or a door, seriously why do they never close it?

“Welcome home!  Yell at anyone today, Arl?”  Bant asks happily, clearly someone had let her drink way too much caff again, sadly it appeared Garen had as well.

“Thankfully no, she did however get Yarael to agree with the rest of us.” Mace tells them when Arlie spaces out, they were used to this now though she will never explain what it means.

“Arlie, Arlliieee, ARL!” Micah calls snapping his fingers in front of her face.

“I’m present, and I didn’t get him to agree with us so much as forcibly removed his head from his ass.”  She tells them all, she had a remarkable gift of being able to follow the conversation when she wasn’t fully present in the room.  She also had a habit of using sayings and words from Earth that weren’t used around here when she first snaps back to reality, only her Masters, Garen, and Bellan knew of Earth but the others always attributed it to pirates or outer-rim talk.

“I’m going to go ahead and assume that means he was being an idiot and say good job love.” Bellan tells her, they’d all gotten pretty adept at understanding what she meant though they were still finding things she’d never heard of even though she’d been on Coruscant for sixteen years now.  When she was half asleep or drunk they often played a game of who could work out what the hell she was talking about the quickest because she’d forget to use language from Coruscant instead of Earth. Garen always thought it amusing that people on Earth often found themselves doing the same when talking to the people of her country as well, though why Australians had all these separate sayings he had no idea. Then again, the concept of countries and how they worked on Earth was still foreign to him.

“Anyway, Obi-Wan, Anakin you have a mission and you need to leave immediately.”  Mace tells them bringing the conversation back to topic.

“What is it Masters?” Obi asks snapping into ‘Knight Mode’ as Anakin called it.

“You’re being sent to protect Senator Amidala of Naboo.”  Arlie says after a moments hesitation, neither would take the news of the assassination attempt well but they had to know. “She’s okay for now but someone attempted to assassinate her.  Until they are apprehended the two of you will be her guards.”

“Someone tried to kill Padmè?!” Anakin squeaks sounding horrified.

“Anakin.” Obi says in a warning tone.  Arlie often didn’t agree with how Obi-Wan was training and raising Anakin, but seeing as she didn’t believe in her ability to take a Padawan she hardly thought it fair to interfere in someone else’s padawanship.

“I apologise Master, that was unprofessional of me.”  He replies looking thoroughly chastised, she has to give Obi-Wan credit, his methods certainly seem to be working.

Soon after, the two departed for their mission.  Once gone, the others decided to have a late dinner since they were all there anyway.

“So, how’s life as a councillor going?  We never seem to talk about it much.” Tahl asks both Mace and Arlie, she had been the least surprised of everyone when she found out about Arlie’s acceptance onto the council and subsequent mastery.

“That’s because it mostly consists of Arlie yelling at people and poking fun at Yoda.” Mace says with a glare that makes Arlie chuckle while looking jokingly offended.

“Oh come on!  I’ve mocked him once in the past three years, everything else the Troll has started.  And I don’t yell at people unless they are being unreasonable.  Meanwhile since I joined, how much better is the council at making decisions? How much more efficient is the temple with everything? How much easier is it for Padawans, Knight and Masters to be heard by the council? Simply by my refusal to ignore the things going on in temple as well as without.  If someone had put their foot down a long time ago we may not have gotten to this point.” Arlie tells her former Master who smiles at her proudly.

“All very true, except that last bit, you’re still wrong about that.”

“What do you mean ‘this point’? And what is she wrong about?” Bant asks smiling still from watching the two bantering.  It’s not often the two discuss council matters outside the chamber so none of them really knew how often they agreed and disagreed or such, this was an interesting opportunity not to be passed up.

“Arl seems to think that we should be devoting more resources to understanding the dark side of the force…” Mace begins to say.

“And by more he means any.” Arlie interjects earning herself a glare.

“…and teaching the younglings about it as more than something to just avoid.  I keep reminding her that the only two people to ever _want_ to research the dark side are her and Dooku, neither of which are stunning examples of sanity, but she’s being extremely obstinate about it.” He finishes, she rolls her eyes.

“As I have said before, Master Dooku was researching the Sith, not the ‘dark side’ of the force…” She begins to say.

“They’re the same thing!” Mace says as though he was sick of repeating himself.

“No they aren’t!  That’s like saying all those that use the ‘light side’ of the force are Jedi.”

“They are!”

“I was using the force long before I became a Jedi.”

“But you don’t specifically use the light side you just haven’t been taught the dark.”

“Technically Force-Magic is not of the light side. Or the dark side, it’s use died out when the force-users first began separating the two, even though there is not separation, it’s just a…”

“…construct created by those who feared the more aggressive uses of the force and those that thought they were stupid.” Mace says clearly quoting her words, she narrows her eyes at him as the rest of the group watch them with varying looks of amusement and intrigue.  The discussion had been going on to a lesser extent years ago, they just had no idea that neither party had let it go nor that it had been brought to the council.

“It’s really annoying when you do that Winni.” Arlie tells him.

“You know by that definition you’ve fallen to the dark side.” Terza points out, everyone just kind of looks between her and Arlie waiting to see what happens next when Garen started snickering.

“Healer Terza when using that definition there _is_ no falling, she was never on the light side.  But what she means is that her use of the force is a neutral, neither light nor dark.  See the concept of light and dark has changed, it used to be those that feared vs those that thought them stupid, now it’s those that follow the Jedi code vs those that don’t, which seems hypocritical given that we are supposed to be a neutral body but anyway.  The Sith weren’t technically evil, they had differing views on the Jedi which is why war broke out but there was more to the Sith than killing off the Jedi, they had a code they lived by as well and Master Dooku’s research has shown that a lot of the Sith didn’t even go on random murdering sprees they just got a bad reputation, it could have easily gone the other way and we could be having the opposite discussion right now if people had thought the Jedi struck first.  To be honest though they could have, we have no real way of knowing.  All we do know is that they use the force in a way some people disagreed with, which is basically how we decide if someone has ‘gone dark’ or not.” Garen tells them all, they look at him completely shocked.  “What? I listen!” He defends looking mildly offended.

“So wait, you’re telling me that the Sith weren’t evil?” Reeft asks sounding confused as everything he’d been taught since the crèche was put into question.

“What I’m saying is that long ago there were no Jedi, nor were there Sith.  Just a bunch of people that knew how to use the force.  Eventually they began having disagreements over what the force should be used for, some were afraid of its destructive capabilities while others thought it safe so long as it’s used wisely.  However, as people tend to do, there were some assholes that decided to use the force to hurt people, swaying a lot of force users to the side against the aggressive techniques.  Over time these two opposing opinions each developed a code, became like a religion worshipping the same god in different and incompatible ways, these became the Sith and the Jedi.  Now one day, they started seeing each other as a dangerous enemy who needed to be wiped out, god knows how that happened but it did, the great Sith war began and despite what we are taught, we don’t actually know which side started the war, we only know who finished it.  What the Jedi called ‘protecting the universe from the Sith’ could also be looked at as religion based genocide.”  Arlie tells them all happily noticing that for once when laying out what she had found, people were listening to her instead of dismissing her.  “My point is that the dark side is simply what the Jedi call things they don’t agree with and they kill them for it, modern Jedi don’t even realise that’s what they’re doing because of how they were raised to think, I know of only three people that came to this realisation on their own and the only reason I did was because I wasn’t raised here from crèche up and I don’t give in to other people’s opinions without research which is what led me here.”

“Well damn.” Micah says dumbly making Garen snicker, having been her best friend for years he had heard this many times in different ways as she discovered more and more lost parts of history.

“So how are the Sith and the dark side different?” Bellan asks confused, it was a lot of information and while she had known they were different before Arlie started talking, she got lost along the way and now had no idea what was happening.

“Dark-Side users are anyone who uses the force in a way the council doesn’t agree with.  The Sith are a people that follow a specific code like we do only with opposing views, supposedly.” Arl explains simply, Bellan nods thoughtfully as she processed what she’d been told.

“What do you mean supposedly?” Tahl asks, she was a researcher, this is what she did, yet somehow, she did not know of any of this, she vowed to look into it more as she was not willing to stand idly by while people were killed for something that may not be as evil as she thought.

“Just before Master Dooku left he was researching the Sith code specifically, the last time I spoke to him about it, which was several weeks before he left, he said he found a lead to an older version of it but he never told me what turned up or what the lead was.  He started looking into it because some of his research into the Sith had him questioning how different the two actually were.”

“I think I’ve found my next project.” Tahl remarks, Arlie smiles while Mace drops his head into his hands in exasperation.

“Okay Winni, I’ll bite, why are you so opposed to hearing any of this let alone have us believe it?” Garen asks his former Master.

“Because the last person to agree with Dooku about such things went crazy, tried to kill the people he had cared for most before jumping into a tank of acid.” Mace says matter-of-factly, the group looked suitably wary for him to look at Arlie and say what he had been trying to for years. “I know you miss him Arleia, I do too, but doing this now will not bring him back, it just risks us losing you too.” Arlie contemplates for a moment before deciding on the words to convey her meaning.

“On my eighth birthday the four of us went to the market.  I went to the bathroom at one point and discovered Xan in an alleyway.” Arlie begins, based on her Masters’ and Garen’s faces, they had not known of this before which made the others in attendance uneasy.  “We talked for a few minutes.  In those few minutes he threatened to kill me and I disowned him entirely, I turned my back on him and literally walked away.” She was a Jedi Master on the high council of the Jedi Order but if she ever said she weren’t fighting back tears in this moment her nose would’ve grown as long as Qui-Gon had once been tall. “Master, Xanatos has been gone a long time, I do miss him but I also know that he is not coming back, that even if he were alive, he wouldn’t be coming back.  I accepted that a long time ago, but if I can save someone else in his name, maybe it can set him free, maybe I won’t have failed him entirely.  Maybe he could be someone’s saviour even if he failed at being mine.”  Bellan put her arm around Arlie’s shoulders earning her a teary-eyed smile from the other girl.  Silence fell as everyone thought everything that had been discussed over.

“Yes, I see why you don’t discuss council matters often.”  Tahl remarks, everyone chuckles at her words grateful for the levity returning to the table.  “But listen, this has been mentioned to me before by a few council members, I’ll offer to research it.  It gets it off the agenda for the council for a while which Yarael, Saesee, and Yoda should be happy about and whatever I do find they will probably take better from me than you anyway.  They trust my research and my ability to be impartial.  If you’ll show me what you’ve found I can use your research as a starting point and go from there.”

“Your biggest problem is going to be getting the council to not view it as a waste of resources.”  Bellan tells them.

“I have the vote of five councillors, we can sway two more I’m sure.” Tahl tells them all. “And if that doesn’t work, Chancellor Palpatine has shown an interest into the history of the Jedi and asked if I might teach him about it sometime, I’m sure I could get him to put in a request to the council.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Mace stood up and stormed out of the room bumping the table on the way and spilling some food onto the carpet.  Everyone was shocked at the outburst, everyone it seemed, except Arlie.

“Why do I get the feeling that was about more than differing views on history?” Bant asks looking between the three people who knew him best.

“Because it was.” Arlie replies with fury clouding her eyes mixed with an unhealthy dose of sadness, then she did something she almost never does and releases her emotions into the force allowing her to think clearly.  “I don’t think he’ll be back anytime soon.”

“Right, well I think that’s enough emotional discomfort for one night, also new rule, no forcing council talk out of you two over dinner.”  Terza says as she stands up, everyone begins to shuffle out until it’s just Micah, Arlie, Bellan, Garen and Reeft remaining.  So really only Tahl, Bant and Terza left…and of course Mace.

“Would you mind if Arl and I stayed here tonight Master Mic?” Bellan asks calling him by the friendly name they all called him when not interacting in an official capacity.

“Not at all Bellan.” He replies with a kind smile only slightly overshadowed by the worry in his eyes.

“We better be heading off I think, Arl can you let me know when Mace gets back?” Garen asks pointing to his head to show he means through the bond, she nods.

“Sure thing G.”  There’s a weird moment between Garen and Arlie, Bellan and Reeft share an exasperated look.  They were used to this, they both knew that their partners were in love with each other but for whatever reason they had decided to be with them instead so they didn’t mind.  Reeft and Bellan had had many conversations about the weird dynamic but in the end both had decided that so long as Arl and Garen were happy as they were it didn’t matter how they felt about each other, they would never act on it so long as they are with them.  Micah seemed to find the interaction between the four of them confusing and amusing, Mace never picked up on anything at all, for a usually observant man, he could be rather dense at times.

“Well, I think I’ll retire until I get some call telling me to come get a drunken Mace Windu from some club named after an arbitrary letter of the alphabet.” Micah says with a joking smile, Arl smiles back though she’s worried there may be more truth than joke in the statement. ‘The Drunken Mace Incident’ as they called it had been ten years ago, it had taken five of those years and a lot of digging in both news feeds, general gossip, and little things Mace let slip for Arl to put together the reason for the incident.  Here were the facts,

Fact the first: Obi-Wan had shut himself in his room for the day before and after the Drunken Mace Incident.

Fact the second: Mace was offworld on that date every year for the last twenty-nine years.

Fact the third: Obi-Wan never spoke to anyone over those two days in the entire time he’d been at the temple.

Fact the fourth: It was two weeks after Palpatine became Chancellor which made it different from other years, that, and he wasn’t able to leave the temple because of the whole Naboo incident, things were still far too tense.

Fact the fifth: It was one week before Padmè Naberrie is first announced to the public.

Conclusion: It was the anniversary of Obi-Wan’s mother being killed and Mace had been unable to leave as he usually would have.

Palpatine was the only thing that set him off like this, she didn’t particularly want a repeat but it seemed unavoidable at this point.

 

Arlie decided to wait on the couch until either her Master came home, or she had to go get him. Bellan wanted to wait with her but ended up falling asleep with her head on Arl’s lap looking, in her girlfriend’s opinion, far too adorable to not have a holo of it.

It was fifteen minutes past 3rd hour when Micah came out of his and Mace’s room and looked at her with worried eyes.

“I jinxed it.” He says simply, she smiles knowingly at him before waking her girlfriend, telling her they were going to get Mace and suggesting she go into the Padawan room to sleep and also promising to join her after they got back.

“Okay, where is he?” Arlie asks once they’ve left the room, not having to worry about closing the door quietly because they never friggin close it.  It annoyed her to no end yet she’s fairly certain she started it, lord knows why.

“A bar on the other side of town, it’s called ‘Norman’s’.”

“Alright, I’ve told Garen, he’s going to meet us at the temple entrance.”

 

Fifteen minutes later had the three of them walking into the bar looking very unimpressed when they see Mace sitting with his face down on the bar.

“You Mic?” The bartender asks, Micah nods and walks over to him, former Padawans in tow. “He fell asleep a few minutes after I spoke to you, been tryin not to wake him.  I don’t know what’s going on and it’s none of my business, but if I were you I’d keep an eye on your friend there, seems like he’s got troubles and drinkin ain’t the way to deal with it.”

“Blasted idiot.” Garen mutters before announcing he’ll wait with the transport.  Micah goes over to Mace to wake him up.

“You may want this, took it off your friend after he became too drunk to notice, didn’t want it either getting stolen or him accidentally or drunkenly using it.” The bartender says handing Arl Mace’s lightsaber.

“He’s not my friend, he’s my father.  One of them at least.” She says looking at Micah who has managed to get Mace upright and on his feet.

“Well, I hope you all sort whatever this is out, awfully nice of your boyfriend to come help out your old man.” He continues, Arlie thinks she should be surprised by the assessment but they tend to get that a lot.

“Actually, he’s my foster brother, they’re his Dad’s too.” Arlie says a small smile on her face when she realises she isn’t just translating the relationship between the Jedi into more common terms but actually speaking of what they all are.

“Arlie,” Micah calls, “Help.  He’s heavy.”

“That’s because you two never work out since I moved out.”

“Oh we work out all the time.” He says with a disturbingly devilish smile.

“I so did not need to know that, let’s just get him home okay?!  Thank you, Mister…” Arlie begins as she turns pointedly from her disgusting and scarring Master and back to the bartender.

“Cliegg, Cliegg Lars.” He says holding out his hand for her to shake which she accepts, they get Mace into the transport before she makes the connection and walks back into the bar.

“As in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s father?”  She asks as she remembers the name Mace once told her.

“Yeah, you know my boy?  Thought the temple was bigger than that.”

“You’d be surprised, actually he’s a good friend of mine, his Padawan also happens to be my little brother.” She says with a fond smile. “Arl Aa.” She introduces.

“Ah, yes Obi has mentioned you, actually I’d heard of you anyway.  Shmi talks about you a lot.” She looks shocked at his words.

“You know my Mother?” She asks, he nods smiling brightly.

“Yes, didn’t know you were a Jedi, neither does she.  Your little brother is apparently quite adept at keeping secrets.  The name change probably helped with that too.”

“I used to use my birth name but I changed it after I was knighted, I knew Ani was gonna be there one day and figured there couldn’t be two Master Skywalkers running around.” She says with a smile. “So how do you know her?”

“Actually, we’re married.  Have been for about a year now.  Shmi wanted to be closer to her sons, as did I, so we decided to move to Coruscant.  Didn’t want to tell Anakin or Ben until we’d found a place and settled down a bit, got my Owen into a school and such.  Do me a favour? Don’t tell them?” He requests with a grimace, he clearly wants to see his sons but for whatever reason it was important to him that he and his wife have a stable set up beforehand.

“I won’t so long as you don’t tell your wife about me.” He looks uncertain.

“Why?” He asks looking rather concerned at the thought of hiding something like this from his wife.

“I don’t know how to face her.” She says looking downcast. He smiles at her kindly.

“She’s your mother Arl.” He tells her, she looks up at him sadly.

“That’s the thing though, I’ve had a mother, one that raised me as her own for many years, I have my Master’s, I don’t I mean I…” She trails off not sure how to put it into words.

“You think she will be hurt that you found kin and it didn’t necessarily include her.” Arlie blushes slightly knowing it seemed ridiculous.

“Arlie she will be glad you found people who love you, more importantly, she’ll be glad to see you.  Even just knowing you are alive is more than she has right now.  Just think about it okay?” He says as he writes down several things on a napkin before sliding it over, “I think you’d better go after your father.” She smiles and runs out.

“Finally Arlie, come on!” Garen says impatiently as they finally leave.

“Sorry, turns out I just ran into my step-father.”

“What?!” Micah and Garen both ask, Mace had promptly passed out on Mic’s lap when they had gotten into the transport.

“I’ll explain later.”

Once Mace was safely in bed, Garen passed out on the couch and Micah made tea.  Arlie contemplated what to do for a while, she looked at the napkin.  It had two addresses and two comm numbers. The first address was marked ‘home’ and the other was ‘Shmi’s work’ the comm numbers were marked ‘Shmi’ and ‘Me’ respectively.  It was Cliegg’s offering of family, giving her the option to reach out or not.  Arlie realised there was only one place she wanted to be right now and went into her old room to snuggle up with her sleeping girlfriend who immediately moved over as much as possible in the single bed before wrapping herself around Arlie and going back to sleep.  Arlie smiled into her hair before deciding not to think about anything for a while and went to sleep feeling safe and loved.


	11. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about trust, it always has been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I am very sorry this took so long. I didn't have my laptop and a whole bunch of other guff happened. In any case, here it is, and a second shortly following.
> 
> Disclaimer – Apart from story line and a few OCs, Star Wars is obviously, though sadly, not mine. Rights to Lucas, also there are references to a movie named Dinotopia and also to Harry Potter. I cannot quite remember where in the story they are so I’ll just add it every chapter. It talks about the code they have for life on Dinotopia, and I blatantly quote Hermione at some point.

“I thought we agreed this wouldn’t happen again?” Micah asks when Mace comes stumbling out of his room looking like death warmed over.  Arlie mercifully took pity on him and healed him, she refused last time because she felt he deserved it, she knew better now.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Mace says, “And thank you Arlie.” He says with a kind smile, it was the defeated look in his eyes that scared her.

“Mace, you know that if you ever want to talk about anything, you have loads of people that will always listen.” Micah tells him keeping his voice low for his former padawan on the couch.

“I know, but I’m fine, really.” No one looked convinced but they left it alone for now.

“Well I have work to do, Obi-Wan and Anakin should be checking in at some point this morning, I’ll let you know what I hear.” Arlie promises before leaving through the open door, Bellan had been the first to leave that morning, she had been woken exceptionally early when a new patient came in needing immediate attention, apparently there had been a complication on a mission to Corellia, luckily it was being overseen by Ki-Adi and she didn’t have to worry about it until it warranted the entire council, if it did at all.  Bellan had apparently picked up the habit of leaving the door open.  The weird thing was none of them did it with any other door except this one.

“So, Arlie referred to us as her fathers last night.  I don’t think she realises I heard her but when the bartender gave her your lightsaber, which is on the nightstand by the way, he said it was her friend’s, she said that you were her father.  That we both were.” Micah tells Mace who smiles towards the door his Padawan had left through.

“I guess we really did adopt her after all, well, both of them.” He says with a glance to Garen who was snoring lightly.

“Yeah, we did.  Also, Arl owes us an explanation, apparently, she met her step-father last night.” Mic tells him, at his confused look he just shrugged, “Yeah I got no idea, we shall have to await her explanation.  We should also both be getting to work.  Younglings won’t learn to beat the snot out of each other on their own.” Micah announces after a quick glance to the chrono.

 

Micah got back late that night, about 11th hour.  It was almost time for assessments for his class and he had to prepare, he really wishes he’d gotten back earlier now because there was Mace, on the couch, off his face and with an empty bottle of whiskey in front of him currently drinking out of a second…well shit.

“Hey Honey, you all right there?” Micah asks worriedly, once every ten years he could maybe deal with, this needed to stop now.

“’m fin’ove.” Mace replies as he tries to look round and ends up falling backwards onto the floor, Micah rolls his eyes.

“Okay we are going to have a serious talk in the morning, and don’t think I’m going to let Arlie heal you.” He tells his partner seriously.

“No Arlie, don-donot tell’er please Mic, please don tell her.” Mace mumbles as Micah guides him into their room.

“All right, I won’t tell her.  So long as it doesn’t happen again, and we are still talking about this tomorrow.”

“It won’t ‘appengen.” He slurs in response before falling asleep on the bed with his face on Micah’s chest.

“Yeah, you said that the last two times.” Micah whispers to the dark.

 

Three days later at 7th hour Micah was eating breakfast as he talked with Garen over the comm since he was on a mission to fix what went wrong on Corellia a few days before.  Mace woke up, walked straight past him and pulled out a bottle of rum which he proceeded to begin to guzzle.

“Oh hell no!” Micah says rather loudly pulling the bottle from Mace’s hands who looks at him in surprise, “Yeah I didn’t think you’d seen or heard me though gods know how you didn’t.” Micah says angrily.

“Micah, I am a full grown man capable of looking after myself. Back. Off.” Mace says making a grab for the bottle, Micah pulls it out of reach.

“Like friggin hell you twit!  You said this wouldn’t keep happening, you said it three times.  You still won’t talk to me and now you’re telling me to back off? This is not how you treat your life-partner Mace Windu!”

“Uhh Masters?” Garen asks unsurely over the comm. They both look towards it feeling guilty that their Padawan had heard.

“Shit.” Mace mutters earning himself another glare from Micah.

“I’ll call you back later Padawan, your other Master and I need to have a discussion.” Micah says before shutting down the commlink

“You know what, I’ve just remembered I have a meeting to brief the council on the situation with Senator Amidala.” Mace says beginning to walk out of their living quarters.

“Mace I swear to every flippin god anyone has ever worshipped, if you walk out that door you are sleeping on the force-damned couch!” Mace ignores him.

 

Two hours later Bellan and Arlie are walking into a clothing store.

“I changed my mind Bells, let’s go.” Arlie says beginning to back out of the shop.

“Do you recall the conversation we had maybe a minute ago? ‘When we walk inside don’t let me back out.’  I came with you to support you sweetheart, now come on, let’s go meet your Mother.” Bellan replies, Arlie freezes for a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding.

“All right, yeah, let’s do this.” Arlie says before the two begin walking further into the shop, eventually they come across a counter behind which stands Shmi Skywalker. “Um, hi.” Arl says awkwardly, Shmi looks up at her daughter for the first time in eighteen years, looks confused for a second, then her eyes widen and begin tearing up.

“Arleia?” She asks in a whisper, Arlie nods, beginning to cry as her Mother rushes forwards and takes her into her arms.  They both begin crying into each other’s shoulders which works well given they are the same height. “I am so glad you are okay, how did you find me?”

“I met Cliegg a few days ago, he gave me your comm numbers and home address and stuff but I thought this would be easier.  Um, this is my girlfriend Bellan.” Shmi smiles at the girl in front of her who smiles and bows slightly in greeting.

“Lady Lars.” Bellan tells her.

“Please, call me Shmi.  You are both Jedi?” Shmi asks curiously, noticing their attire and lightsabers, as she changes the sign on the door from open to close.

“Yes, um are you going to get in trouble for that?” Arl asks not wanting her mother to lose her job because of her.

“Well I’m not going to yell at myself so no.  This is my store, well technically someone else bought it but it’s all in my name.” Arlie looks confused.

“Who bought it then?”

“I don’t actually know him, a week after I mentioned to Cliegg that I wanted to move here, the man showed up and helped make it all possible, he said he owed it to my family.”

“Black hair? Blue eyes?” Arlie asks as the words awaken a memory from years ago. Her Mother nods and Arlie smiles slightly.

“Friend of yours?” Shmi asks, Arlie gets a sad look in her eye.

“He used to be, a very long time ago.”

 

The three went out for coffee as they caught each other up on the last eighteen years, Bellan and Shmi got to know each other well, sharing stories of Arl that she wishes were never shared.

“Have you seen your brother?” Shmi asks an hour into the impromptu reunion.

“Far too many times.” Arlie says with a smile earning a laugh from Bellan, at her Mother’s curious look she explains, “I’ve been on the Jedi High Council for three years, Obi and Ani get into a lot of trouble and yet somehow, they’ve always fixed it on their own so we never have anything to punish them for and the cycle just repeats.” Arlie says chuckling, Shmi has a proud look on her face, then a confused one still filled with pride.

“You are on the council at twenty-three?”

“I was knighted at thirteen so it was seven years after that when I earned my Master status and a place on the council.” Her mother looks very impressed while Bellan’s eyes shone with pride at her girlfriend’s accomplishments earning a smile from said girlfriend.

“Haven’t you taken a student of your own? I thought that was something a Jedi did while a Knight.”

“Most of the time it is but since I was so young and immediately partnered with my unofficial Brother-Padawan I didn’t have an opportunity to.  I suppose I do now, but I’m not sure I’ll ever take a Padawan.” Arl answers earning a thoughtful look from her Mother and an exasperated eyeroll from her girlfriend.

“It’s a requirement Arl, at least one Padawan, even Master Dooku took a Padawan!” Bellan reminds her.

“If the Council can win an argument with me about it I’ll take whichever damned Initiate they want, but since a few don’t even think I should be a Jedi *cough* Yoda *cough*, I don’t see them having great reasoning on me training a Padawan.”

“Why doesn’t Master Yoda think you should be a Jedi?” Shmi asks.

“Yoda and Arl have a legendary rivalry going back to the first day they met sixteen years ago.  Master Yoda disapproves of everything Arlie stands for and Arlie…”

“Thinks the ancient troll is a twit.” Arl finishes angrily.

“I was going to say you think he’s a little close-minded but sure that works too.” The three chuckle about that.  Arlie’s comm begins to chime and she sees it’s Garen.

“One sec.” Arl says to her companions who both nod, she answers the call. “Hey G, how’s Corellia?”

“An absolute and total mess, kind of like our Masters’ relationship right now.” Garen says getting directly to the point, he wanted to call her earlier but knew she had the council briefing.

“What are you talking about?”  Arlie asks worriedly, Bellan and Shmi exchange concerned looks.

“How did Winni seem during the meeting this morning?” Arl thought about it.

“Tired.” She replies.

“Okay, then he’s a good actor.  I was talking to Mic this morning and Mace must have just gotten up and all of a sudden it was a whole ‘hell no.’ and a ‘I’m a full grown man back off.’ Followed by ‘this is not how you treat your partner Mace Windu.’  And you know some stuff in between, that was when they realised I was still there and Master hung up but I doubt the argument ended there.” Arlie’s eyebrows furrow in thought.

“Any idea what they were fighting about?”

“None, but Mic said something about Mace having said it wouldn’t happen three times or something like that.” Arlie spends a few moments quieting her mind and thinks clearly with all available facts when she remembers her step-father’s words of warning.

_‘I_ _’d keep an eye on your friend there, seems like he_ _’s got troubles and drinkin ain_ _’t the way to deal with it._ _’_

“Oh dear.  Garen you remember that thing that happened twice in the middle of the night?  What if it’s happened more than twice and suddenly became frequent?” She could practically hear her friend’s eyes widen.

“Arlie this was two hours ago!”

“Yes, so you can see how that would have been the breaking point.” Garen is quiet for a few moments as he thinks it over.

“Okay, okay, we can deal with this.  I’m not there right now so Arlie, what do we do?”

“We let me talk to my Master, he did something for me once five years ago, it’s time I return the favour.” Arlie says as she thinks of the conversation she and her Master had just before her make up 18th birthday celebration.

_“That slight alcohol problem you mentioned._ _”_

_“was four years ago, and not a dependency so much as a drinking too much too often especially given my family had little to no idea.  Point is I_ _’ll be fine._ _”_

_“All right, I trust you. I am going to keep an eye on you though._ _”_

“Okay, if things aren’t better when I get back next week...” Garen begins to ask.

“We stage an intervention.”  Arlie answers strongly but earning herself two curious looks.

“I hate it when you do this.” Garen tells her over the comm, she looks at the device in confusion.

“What did I do?” She asks not just Garen but present company as well.

“What the frack is an intervention?” Garen answers, Arl’s eyes light up in understanding.

“I have absolutely no idea what the equivalent would be, I’ll look it up later and get back to you.”

“ _*blaster fire in background*_ Shit! I’ll call later Arls.” Garen says before ending the call.

“Sorry about that.” Arlie says as she turns back to her Mother and Girlfriend.

“It’s fine, I was going to suggest having your Master’s and this Garen over for dinner with the two of you, Obi-Wan, and Anakin when Cliegg, Owen, and I move into our permanent apartment next week but, it sounds like this may not be the best time.” Shmi says with a worried expression, Arlie smiles kindly at her Mother.

“Things may be solved by then, I don’t know how big that argument got.  Having gone through my rebellious stage with that man I can say he’s either completely blown up at Mic or he’s managed to smooth it all over.”

“Well, just let me know, I’m sure Owen would love to meet his older sister.”  Arlie smiles a teary-eyed smile at her mother’s words, but then she’s reminded of her little brother, Sonny, that she left behind on Earth along with her older brother Trick.  And her boyfriend, was she cheating on him with Bellan? Technically they didn’t break up…how is all of this only occurring to Arlie now?  Her family had lost her father and step-mother, then she took herself away from them too. How worried must they have been? Do they think she’s dead?  Have they been looking for her unaware that she’s not even in their universe anymore?  Who was looking after Sonny?  Well, she supposes, he’d be nineteen now.  Which is weird since she was fourteen when he was born but that’s the nature of time travel.  Her beloved mentor is currently sixteen after all. Wait…her Jedi mentor, is sixteen…she must be in the Jedi temple! How could Arlie not have thought of this? She had to find her!  But that wasn’t her job, she was only supposed to get the Jedi ready.  Plus, she didn’t even know the Wookiee’s name, but then how many Wookiee initiates could there be?  Her mentor had told Arlie that the force had taught her force-magic so clearly she wasn’t the one to train her.  But Arl could keep an eye on her right?  This required meditation.

“…lie, Arrrrliiieeeee.” Bellan says waving her hand in front of her face.

_‘We should probably head back soon, I have a surgery in an hour and I have to review the file._ _’ Bellan says looking over at Arlie and noticing the glassy eyed look the girl had on her face._

_‘Um Arleia?_ _’ Shmi asks concerned._

_‘She_ _’s fine, she zones out sometimes, one sec, I_ _’ll get her back. Arlie, Arrrrliiiieeeee._ _’ Bellan says waving her hand in front of her face._

“Yeah you’re right, we should be getting back to the temple.” Arlie tells her as the memory of the conversation she missed enters her mind.

“It’s still creepy when you do that.”

They say their goodbyes and head back to the temple, later that night Arlie stands out on the balcony of her Master’s quarters waiting for Mace to return, Micah knew she was here and had decided to just turn in for the night.  He didn’t want to deal with this again today.

As she was worried he would, her Master grabbed a bottle of some alcohol she couldn’t name from Naboo before noticing Arlie and coming out to join her.

“Hey Arls, what’re you doing here?” He asks leaning against the railing beside her.

“Garen called me this morning rather concerned about the two of you.  Didn’t take long to put together what was happening.” She tells him with a pointed look to the bottle in Mace’s hand, he had the decency to look ashamed as he turned the bottle over in his hands a few times.  “I met my Mother today.  Turns out she and her new husband and step-son have moved to Coruscant to be closer to Obi-Wan and Anakin.  Apparently, Obi is my step-brother and neither of the little shits felt inclined to tell me.  But then again neither did they tell Shmi I was here.”

“Wow, that’s big.  How’d it go?” He asks a little upset this was the first he was hearing about this.

“Really good, Bellan came with me to make sure I didn’t chicken out which I almost did.” It took Mace less than a second to remember what the phrase meant, “The five of us plus Obi-Wan and Anakin have been invited around for dinner next week.  I’m hoping Ani will be back from Naboo by then and Obi from his planet hunt.  And I’m hoping you’ll be okay at that time too.”  She says looking at him supportively.

“Arlie...” Mace begins saying in a frustrated tone.

“No stop.  Whatever you are about to say is either denial, a lame excuse, or both.  Master do you remember what I told you about that slight problem I had when I was fifteen?” Mace nods looking more and more guilty by the second. “I know what it’s like, please let me help.” He’s quiet for a few moments, she thinks he isn’t going to say anything when he suddenly starts talking.

“I was in love with Lorna.  It was so wrong and no one ever knew but it was what it was.  Now her murderer is the most powerful man in the Republic, I have to deal with him semi-frequently as he pretends not to know me.  My niece deals with him nearly every day now and has no idea he’s the man that murdered her mother right in front of her. Every time I see him with Yoda, the troll gives me a look like he can feel my rising anger.  I’m afraid Arlie, I’m afraid for Padmè, I’m afraid for Little Obi, Obi-Wan says Sheev is taking far too much interest in Anakin, I’m afraid for the Republic and for Nih-Lo wherever the hell he is because I can’t protect him.  I can’t protect any of them.  I should have been able to and now the Republic is in serious trouble and there’s nothing I can do.  The worst part is I am more afraid for myself than any of it, because those looks from Yoda are warranted, every time I see Sheev I just feel unending rage and total hatred and betrayal and dammit Arlie I don’t want to fall!  I know you don’t believe in the dark-side but whether it’s a real thing or not doesn’t matter if it will be treated as such either way.” Mace rants unable to stop once he’s started, he slams his hands down on the railing in a fit of anger before attempting to calm himself.

“We need a plan.  I know we all agreed we wouldn’t discuss it outside of council chambers but the others don’t know what we know about Sheev.  War is coming and we know it, we can’t trust him to be trying to save the republic.  We need a plan for how to deal with that, for how to protect our family as we do.  But Master more than that we need you!  You aren’t going to fall and do you know how I know that?” Arlie asks, he shakes his head, “Because you’re warm.  Always have been, always will be.”

_‘He feels cold.  I don_ _’t mean his actions or anything I mean his presence in the force feels colder than it did._ _’_

Mace smiles as his eyes fill with tears. “You know three years ago, Micah told me that he and I were bad Jedi because we had attachments, because we loved each other and our kin.  I think he was right about what he said next, you guys aren’t my weakness, you’re my strength.” Arlie smiles before leaning against his side, he wraps an arm around her shoulders as she grabs the bottle from his hands and uses the force to put it back in the cupboard.  “Frivolous use of the force Padawan.” He tells her, she laughs.

“Tell someone who cares Master.”

The next morning Micah is lying in bed trying and failing to will himself to get up when there’s a hesitant knock on the door.

“Come in?” Micah says confused to who it might be, he did successfully sit up though.

“Morning love, I uh, I made you breakfast.” Mace says as he stands in the doorway holding a tray, Micah gestures for him to come in which he does and brings the tray of food over.  The first thing Micah notices is the lack of alcoholic stench which he is grateful for. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want so um..” Mace says gesturing to the tray that was covered in eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, and what Arlie called Waffles.  They didn’t have them in this universe so she taught them to make them which was an interesting adventure since she had made a potato spontaneously combust the first and last time they let her cook. Micah smiles, both at the memory and the food in front of him.

“It looks great, I hope you’re planning on helping me because I don’t think I could eat all this on my own.” Micah replies extending an olive branch, Mace smiles and sits on the bed beside his life-partner.

“Listen, Mic, I owe you a huge apology.  I was a total idiot and I lied to you and snuck around and to be honest there are a few things you are not aware of that happened over the last couple of days.  I’ll fill you in later,” Mace promises at his partner’s concerned look, “Anyway, I should have told you what was going on and I should have done it years ago before any of it got to this point.” Micah raises an eyebrow at the knowledge Mace had been hiding something from him for years.

“So tell me now.” And he does.  He tells him everything, even stuff about the fledgling separatist movement that he technically shouldn’t know. “Gods love, I’m so sorry.” Micah says now wishing he had handled things differently.

“No I am, I also owe Garen a thank you and an apology.  Turns out he dobbed us in to Arlie about yesterday morning and she worked stuff out from there and, what is it she says? Pulled my head out of my mouth or something.” Mace says attempting to remember, she didn’t say it often and usually in regards to Yoda and Yarael at which point he’s often tuning her out.

“I think it’s out of your ass but I don’t know.” Micah says shrugging.

“Doesn’t really matter, point is she made me see reason and raised a good point, that we need a plan to deal with Sheev, I’d like it if you helped us.  In fact I want to bring the whole group into it, we need help and I doubt the council will listen, even with Arlie’s ‘Ice to a hothian’ mode.” Micah laughs a little at that before sobering up…bad choice of words…

“I suppose we should plan for guests tonight then.” Micah says leaning his head on his love’s shoulder.

“Mic, are we okay?” He asks tentatively.

“Yeah Winni, we’re okay.”

“GOOD BECAUSE IF YOU SCARE GAREN AND I LIKE THAT AGAIN WE’RE GONNA BRING TAHL AND TERZA INTO IT!” Arlie yells from the empty Padawan room that she stayed in last night, her two Masters exchange looks as they realise that Mace had left the door open. 

“The habit is spreading…” Micah says dramatically making them both laugh.

 

During her short lunch break that her assistant tricked her into taking, Arlie heads down to the crèche, knowing that if anyone could tell her where to find a certain Padawan, it would be the Crèche Master that watched over her.  She found the Jedi Master currently on duty and smiled as she realised it was a friend of hers and the Master of the Crèche that had looked after Garen, Bant, Bellan, Reeft, and Obi-Wan.

“Master Penn.” She calls, the woman smiles at her over the hoard of initiates.

“Master Aa, how lovely to see you. How can I help?” The woman in question asks as she walks towards her.

“I’m trying to find a Padawan but I don’t know her name nor who her Master may be or even, to be honest, if she is here.” Arlie explains earning a suspicious look from her friend, “Jey-Sahl please, I promise I’m not going to harm your possible former charge, I just want to know that she’s okay.”

“Well I don’t know how to help if you don’t know who you’re looking for but I’ll try. What do you know about her?” Jey-Sahl Penn asks with a kind and patient smile only possible from those that frequently deal with children.

“She’s a Wookiee, should be about sixteen-years-old.  That’s all I know.” Arlie says knowing that ‘force-seer’ and ‘future force-magic user’ were completely useless.

“I’m sorry to say, there was only one Wookiee in that age bracket in the temple but she was never taken as a Padawan and chose to return home rather than go to one of the corps.” Jey-Sahl says surprising Arlie whose expression slowly morphs to thinly veiled horror. “Are you alright Arl?”

“I think I may have fu-uh-messed up.” Arl says mindful of the initiates surrounding them, luckily they had yet to recognise the Jedi Master in their playroom. “Jey-Sahl I may have accidentally damned the Jedi Order to extinction and possibly all of reality along with it.” She whispers terrified and feeling once more like the seven-year-old that tried not to cry as she sat alone in a small dark room.

“Whatever has happened Arlie you can fix it, I know you can.” Her friend tells her supportively as she watches, concerned by the fear she had never before seen on her friend’s face.

“MASTER AA!” One of the initiates yelled and soon she was swarmed, she put on a brave face for the initiates but inside she was quivering.  She thought the separatist movement and Sheev friggin Palpatine would be the worst of her troubles, she should have looked into it sooner.  If she had she could have prevented this, could have apprenticed theWwookiee herself! Could have done something! Okay she needed to calm down, suddenly she heard singing in her head.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine_

_You make me happy, when skies are grey_

_You_ _’ll never know dear, how much I love you_

_Please don_ _’t take my sunshine away_

The singing calmed her as it always did, as did the realisation that her Master had sensed her panic and saved her again, she smiled and sent a thank you through the bond.

“Master Aa, are you looking for a Padawan?” The young initiate in her lap asks, Arl bites her lip.

“Aren’t you a little young to worry about such things Initiate Harril?” Arlie questions with a patient smile she copied from Jey-Sahl.

“Not for me, my older sister is here too, she’s fourteen in four days and no one has taken her so she’s going to be sent to the corps because we don’t have a home to go to.  She said she’d be here to watch over me.” The six-year-old says sadly, Arl made a mental note to ask the Crèche Master where the girls came from.

“I will ask around, point a few Knights and Masters in her direction, but if none of them feel she is right for them then taking her anyway would do more harm than good.” Arl tells the young girl who hugs her tightly.

“Thank you Master Aa, you’re my saviour.” Arlie’s heart seizes for a moment before she smiles at the girl who was completely unaware that she’d just made her day.

“You’re welcome Quilo.” Arlie replies as she fights back happy tears and holds the girl close.  When she got ready to leave she went to the Crèche Master once again.  “Could you please send me the information for Grey Harril?” Jey-Sahl smiles warmly at her.

“Trying to find her a Master within three days?  I would think it wouldn’t be hard, she’s a talented Initiate, but still no one has chosen her.  I’m sure Quilo appreciates the effort.”

“What happened to their home?” Arlie asks warily.

“There was a fire late last year, burned down their house, their parents didn’t make it out and they have no other relatives.” Master Penn says sadly, Arlie nods.  She gets a message from her Master saying there would be food at their place for everyone tonight, Arl is just glad he and her other Master were okay and immediately said she’d be there.

 

“Sorry I’m late, had an interesting day.” Arlie says as she rushes in through the open door, Micah smiles before closing the door behind her, everyone freezes.  “Are you going to kill us all Masters?”

“No, we aren’t going to kill you Arlie!” Mace says indignantly.

“Well then before we get down to whatever serious thing you have to discuss, I have something very important to say as well.  Is anyone here wanting to take a Padawan very skilled in code-breaking, using the force as a means of investigation and not getting into trouble after throwing pie in Master Poof’s face?” Arlie asks, everyone sniggers and looks rather impressed at the last part.

“I was actually considering going down to the crèche tomorrow to meet some initiates, I need an assistant now that Bellan’s a healer.”  Terza tells her, “But those skills won’t necessarily help them in the healer’s wing.”

“I’d consider taking a Padawan.” Bant says sounding a little unsure, however one look at her face showed the determination that had gotten her through her Padawan years.

“Alright, if I give you both a file on a girl and send you in her direction would you read it and meet with her, see if there’s a connection there? Preferably in the next three days as well?”  They instantly understood the time constraint and both agreed.

“Brilliant, now that that’s sorted we have something very important to discuss that cannot, under any circumstances, leave this room.” Micah begins, “Except for Garen, when he gets back, but I’ll tell him in this room so it’s still technically not leaving it but, you know this isn’t even the point.” Mace rolls his eyes and takes over.

“We need your help.  There is a war coming and we have a murderer leading us through it.”

“I’m sorry you what now?” Reeft asks very confused, that was not what he expected them to say.  Mace explains all about the situation with the separatists, his family, and his meetings with Sheev since he first became Senator of Naboo.

“So, I’ve just had a scary thought.” Tahl says after a few minutes of total silence, everyone turns to look at her. “You remember that Sith Obi-Wan fought a decade ago?” She begins.

“I still don’t think it was a Sith.” Mace says.

“Dooku thought it was a Sith.” Arlie interjects.

“Oh well if Dooku says so...” He begins saying.

“Will you stop being children and listen to me?” Tahl asks hotly, they both nod sheepishly, “As I was saying, we never found the Master and this kind of war sounds exactly like something they would do.  After the whole Naboo incident it seems rather large scale, they’ve gained power.  Who do we know that gained power from Naboo?”

“Chancellor Palpatine.” Bellan realises, Tahl nods at her.

“I’m sorry are we really suggesting that Palpatine is a Sith? Psychotic murderer is one thing, Sith is actually no that makes perfect sense.” Micah says backtracking on what he was saying.

“He’s not a bloody Sith, he wouldn’t start a war that could kill thousands.” Mace says tersely.

“You once thought he wouldn’t murder his wife in front of their three children too.”  Arlie replies quietly, Mace inclines his head conceding the point.

“Okay but Dooku spends loads of time with Palpatine, especially since he left the order, would he really be spending time with a Sith instead of reporting him? I know he always had an unnatural interest in them but this is another level.” Terza says to the group.

_“Whatever you_ _’ve gotten yourself into Master, get out, before it_ _’s too late._ _”  She whispers into his shoulder._

_“It already is._ _”_

 

_“He feels cold_ _…The only other time I_ _’ve felt that is with Master Dooku._ _”_

 

_“Keep your brother away from the Chancellor, do not trust him under any circumstances._ _”_

 

“Arlie?  Do you know something we don’t?” Mace asks watching her face carefully as everyone turns to face her. 

“I think Master Dooku is in trouble.”


	12. War...what is it good for?...The Sith.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes all the training in the world cannot hope to prepare you for the reality your life takes...Arlie had thought she truly understood that, she was wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer – Apart from story line and a few OCs, Star Wars is obviously, though sadly, not mine. Rights to Lucas, also there are references to a movie named Dinotopia and also to Harry Potter. I cannot quite remember where in the story they are so I’ll just add it every chapter. It talks about the code they have for life on Dinotopia, and I blatantly quote Hermione at some point. Chapter title from Edwin Starr song 'War'.

“I think Master Dooku is in trouble.” Arlie tells them showing an uncharacteristic amount of trepidation.

“Go on.” Terza invites tersely.

“He knew something was up with Sheev.  The first time he met Ani he warned me not to let him anywhere near Palpatine, warned me not to trust him at all.  The day he left the order I begged him, whatever he was into he needed to get out, he said it was too late.  Earlier that same day he told me he believed the Sith were still around, seemed pretty certain he’d have to fight them sometime.  Plus the reason he gave me for his leaving the order at all.” Everyone exchanges looks except Mace who was far too wrapped up in her words, “He said ‘Soon my usefulness will be at an end, I’d prefer to decide when that is and do it before there is blood on my hands.’  I kind of got the feeling he didn’t mean usefulness to the Jedi.”

“Why haven’t you mentioned something sooner?” Micah asks angrily unable to stop thinking that if she had maybe they could have helped.

“Xanatos.” Arlie immediately replies making Terza pull a face of deep regret before releasing the emotion into the force.

“Okay in this case that may be fair.” Tahl concedes reluctantly.

“But the Sith killed Master Jinn!” Bellan points out unable to believe Dooku would work with them after that.

“Yes, and despite the fact that it doesn’t sound like he had much of a choice, he quit the order so that he could no longer be used against us.”

“What are you saying he sacrificed himself for us?” Bant replies hotly, she had never had the best opinion of Dooku.

“I’m saying we have no idea what is going on.  All we know is that there is a war coming, we have a Chancellor leading us who at worse is a Sith, at best a murderer, Dooku is in some kind of trouble, there was a Sith apprentice that killed Qui-Gon and was then killed by Obi-Wan ten years ago, the Jedi records have been tampered with, and someone really wants Senator Amidala out of the picture.”

“It all seems far too unrelated to not be related somehow.  Like it was purposefully done in this order is prevent us seeing a connection.” Tahl says after a moment’s thought.

“So then, why are we?  If the Sith have hidden themselves for hundreds of years since the great Sith war, why are we so easily picking up on things now?” Reeft asks not liking the feelings it was giving him.

“A few possibilities,” Mace begins, “the first being that they’ve gotten slack or cocky. The second being they’re being bolder because their big plan is coming soon, the third is the Master has died and the student has no idea what they are doing or the fourth, it’s a trap.”

“Does anyone else find it weird how much has been centred around Dooku?  I mean Xanatos falls when his father is murdered, Qui-Gon dies when a Sith apprentice shows up out of nowhere to kill him and Dooku is in some kind of trouble that appears to be to do with the Sith as well?” Micah asks.

“I don’t think Dooku is what those things have in common,” Bellan tells them, everyone looks to her in surprise, “Well think about it, if it was about Dooku than Dooku wouldn’t be a part of that list.  But who else is closely related to all of them, along with who the Chancellor is getting close with now?  Not to mention the timing of it all.”  Everyone looks confused, she rolls her eyes and begins to explain.  “Xanatos fell five weeks after he found Arl, Qui-Gon dies just after finding Anakin, Dooku gets forced into some precarious position, and Palpatine’s new target is Anakin.  Not to mention Anakin’s Master is his son and you just happen to be the Padawan of his brother.” Bellan says looking at Arlie for the last part.

“But I’m nobody?  I’m just a slave.” Arlie says when everyone looks at her with calculating gazes.

“You’re a lot more than that Arl, you’re the first person in a thousand years give or take a few hundred, that has been trained to use force-magic.  You said it wasn’t light or dark right?  Maybe it’s a threat to whatever he is doing which makes you a threat.  If he is targeting you he seems to be corrupting or taking everything important to you, trying to leave you alone.  I think he wants you on his side.” Micah tells her, she juts her chin out stubbornly.

“Well he’s not getting me.  I think it’s a big leap but if you’re right than all of you could be in danger not to mention Shmi, Cliegg, and Owen.”

“How did they move to Coruscant anyway?  From what I’ve picked up from Anakin and Obi-Wan, neither of them were exactly swimming in credits.”  Bant points out not being intentionally cruel, just realistic.

“Yeah didn’t Shmi say some guy had helped her buy the store?” Bellan adds sending worried looks to her girlfriend.

“She did but that wasn’t him…I think…oh I’ve had a bad thought, oh no no no no  no.” Arlie says getting up and starting to pace, “No it can’t be, not again.” She says beginning to hyperventilate.  She didn’t even bother trying to suppress it to hide from her audience, she knew she would be unable to.  She drops to her knees as she visibly shakes, her Master comes over and puts his arms around her, stroking her hair as he begins to sing,

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

 you make me happy, when skies are grey

you’ll never know dear, how much I love you

please don’t take my sunshine away.” When Mace has gotten to the end of the verse Arl has calmed down again.  “Okay you want to explain what’s going on?”  Arl isn’t sure she can, not for this.  What if this goes too far? I mean they are already committing treason by talking about what they have, but this was betraying the order itself, and wasn’t that a dandy thought.  As a child she never would have cared, her Master had been right, she hated the order.  Things had changed though, she loved the Jedi, every single one of them she loved them.  Yoda was right, they were all family even if some were too pigheaded to notice.  Jedi helped each other right?  They protected people, but would that extend to Xan?  More importantly would they report it? Would Obi-Wan be in trouble?  Would they hunt Xan down and devote resources when the bigger threat had yet to be realised by most? Could she risk it?  She once said she’d let the galaxy burn to protect her brother, was that still true?  Telling them of Xan could be important even if she didn’t want to think he was working for Palpatine, perhaps even save her brother from him. Could she risk the man who had once been her Saviour?  She didn’t know, didn’t think she wanted to find out, didn’t know what to do.

“An old friend of mine helped my Mother buy the store, someone that I very much doubt has anything to do with any of this and so I will leave them out of it.  If I’m wrong, then on my head be it, and may all the gods forgive me.” She finally settles on as she gazes out of the window and at the night sky, wishing stars were visible on Coruscant as they had once been on Tatooine.

“Okay moving on from that, what do we do about Palpatine and Dooku?” Reeft asks to save them all the trouble of dealing with whatever can of worms they had inadvertently opened there.

“That’s why I’m telling you all of this, we don’t know.” Mace tells them finally looking away from his former Padawan.

“Maybe if we go back to where he murdered his wife we could find some sort of evidence that will at least put him under suspicion and compromise his position as Chancellor of the Republic.” Bant suggests with an uncertain shrug, Terza begins to shake her head.

“It’s been twenty-one years Bant there’s likely to be no remaining evidence and if there were it’s probably been contaminated.  Not to mention Judicial would have searched the place at the time.” She tells her.

“I mean the place has been abandoned since the kids were put into the system.  Judicial didn’t find anything at all but we have something they didn’t.” Mace tells them confusing them.

“What?” Tahl asks kind of creeped out by Mace’s vengeful smile.

“Quinlan Vos.”

 

“You want me to go to the scene of a twenty-one-year-old murder, ‘do my thing’ and you aren’t going to tell me why?” Vos asks, Arl nods, “Sounds fun, where am I going?” Arl decides she likes him.

“A few things first, most importantly you tell no one but me where you have been or what you have found.  Second you must understand that this is a personal request and by no means sanctioned by anyone.  Third you will technically be trespassing on a property owned by a high-profile individual.  Should anything go wrong you are to deny any knowledge of anything and tell them I sent you to do it.” She tells him sternly, he looks at her like she’s ridiculous.

“So basically tell them the truth?” He drawls sarcastically, yeah she really likes him.

 ** _“Master can I keep this one?_** ** _”_** Arl asks through the pairbond she and her Master created after the training bond was dissolved, she can feel his amusement as he answers.

**_“No Arlie you cannot keep the Knight._ ** **_”_ **

**_“You_ ** **_’re no fun._ ** **_”_ **

“Yes, now I’ve arranged transport for you, here’s where you’re going.” She says handing Vos a piece of flimsiplast, she really missed paper like the kind she had in abundance on Earth.

“All right, Aayla is aware you are taking over her training while I’m gone, she can be quite shy and to be honest Master Aa, she’s more than a bit intimidated by you so please don’t give her permanent psychological damage while I’m gone.” He says wisely not opening the folded Flimsiplast yet.

“I promise not to break your Padawan in any kind of permanent way.” Arl says managing to not raise her hand as they would have on Earth while making such a sarcastic pledge, even if she was actually promising.

“You know most people are nice when someone is doing them a favour.” Vos says faking annoyance, his undisguised smile gave him away.

“One day I’ll learn that lesson I’m sure.” She replies with a smirk.  She usually hated appearing a decade younger than she actually was, but other times it’s nice to act twenty-three instead of thirty-three.

 

Meanwhile in Micah and Mace’s quarters, the others are sitting around waiting to see how Vos reacts, they had stayed up all night planning things and had decided to wait around for his answer before going to work and putting things in motion.

“I knew it was a mistake letting Arlie do this.” Mace mutters with a smile on his face, “She’s asking if she can keep him.” He explains to alleviate the others confusion.  They all kind of laughed while sharing worried looks.

 

Later that day Arlie met Aayla in the training salle.

“Padawan Secura?” She asks as she stand in front of the girl in question.

“Master Aa.” She says bowing in greeting but looking marginally confused.

“Something the matter Padawan?”

“N-no Master I just, I mean, I uh, I th-thought you’d be, um older?” Arl wasn’t sure whether to be offended or flattered, but this she was used to.

“Yes, I get that a lot.  Now your Master says duelling skills leave much to be desired and has asked that I work with you on that while he is gone.  Is that acceptable for you?” Arlie wasn’t exactly a teacher and had no idea of what she was doing, but she’d agreed to teach Aayla to defend herself so that was what she was going to do.

“Y-yes Master.”

Three days later Quinlan Vos walks into the salle and sees his terrible fighter of a Padawan holding her own against Micah Giiett, she wasn’t exactly winning but she certainly wasn’t losing which was more than Quinlan would have expected after only three days.  This Arl Aa must be some kind of Padawan training god.  He really wondered where she came from, who trained her? There’s no mention of her before she was knighted, he supposes he could find out but he also thought it none of his business. She didn’t seem the forthcoming sort, if she wanted him to know, she’d tell him.

He went over and stood next to Aa and watched as Giiett finally got the opening he’d been looking for and took Aayla down pointing his lightsaber at her throat, she yielded.

“What did you do wrong Padawan?” Aa asks as Giiett helps his Padawan up.

“I didn’t react to what the force was warning me of in time, I got too focused on the fighting that I didn’t see it in time.” Aayla responds impressing him yet again, this kind of awareness was exactly what he had been trying to teach his Padawan for a year.

“Good, just remember that your instincts may very well warn you before the force does and give you a smidgen more time to react, it may come in handy some day.” Aayla nods to her temporary Master, Vos had no idea what she had just said but supposes Aayla must have learnt to translate the weird way Master Aa spoke over the last few days. “I shall hand you over to your Master then.” Aa says with a short bow to Aayla and then to Vos both of which returned it before Aayla run over and first hugged Aa, then hugged him.

“I’m glad you’re back Master, I’ve so much to show you.” She says with an unexpected amount of confidence in her words.

“Well, thank you Master Aa for looking after her.  You should know that I found out what happened but… there’s no way to prove it.  I suspect you knew the answer anyway.” He tells her, she nods at his words.

“There’s something you aren’t saying.” She says, it wasn’t a question but he nods anyway.

“It was far too blinding for me to see who exactly was involved, but there’s an unnatural amount of darkness there, even for the events that took place.  Someone was being controlled through the dark side, maybe even possessed.  I can’t tell you anymore because I don’t know, what I do know is that this is more complicated than even you know.  Be careful Aa.” She nods at his warning before Vos takes his Padawan out of there, already chatting away about what she’d been taught in his absence.

 

A month later Arlie is called into an emergency meeting of the high council, they had gotten a rather disturbing transmission from Obi-Wan and were forced to share it with the Chancellor over holocall.

The Chancellor orders the clones into battle and politely ‘requests’ that the Jedi be the ones to lead them, they debated this for a while.  Arlie said they have no choice, Yarael said it was their duty as peacekeepers, everyone knew the moment those two agreed on something they were all screwed and eventually agreed.

They spent the next few days getting every sorted, most of the council was sent off to the few other temples as it was decided that they should have a councillor in each, coordinated efforts to get Jedi leading the clones properly they knew would take weeks even with it.  Only Mace, Arlie and Yoda remained on Coruscant.  Then Mace and Yoda had to go save Obi, Ani, and Padmè, for some reason Yoda decided it was a good idea to leave Arl in charge of the Jedi on Coruscant and in the biggest position of power over all Jedi.

“At war we soon will be, predicted this long ago we both did even if warn others we did not.  No time is this for fear to control us again.” Yoda had said before leaving, she hadn’t had time to think on his words any when the responsibility of several thousand clone troopers and hundreds of Jedi fell to her.  She was just thankful she only had to worry about those reporting to the Coruscant temple.

Mace and Yoda did not return for three days, they had taken a battalion of Jedi with them as well as weaponry leaving her with meagre resources and a war to fight.  She did not sleep for the three days they were gone nor did she have a moment to meditate.  The old formal meeting room down the hall from the council chambers was converted into a war room from which she delegated battalions of troopers to Jedi’s coordinated with other temples with which they set up a system of rank.  Knights and Masters to be Generals in this new Republic army and Padawans to be Commanders.  The older initiates were now being trained more aggressively for the war they would soon be entering.  She was glad that the older of the two Harril sisters did end up beginning a padawanship with Bant, if only to save her from that.  Not that anyone was safe out in battle either.

The three days had the temple in near chaos as Jedi left to fight for the Republic all over the galaxy, there just weren’t enough transports to get everyone where they needed to go.  They had Judicial bringing ships that would transport Jedi and eventually become battle cruisers for the clone army.

Upon return Yoda, Mace, Obi-Wan, and Anakin were led directly to the war room where they found Arlie standing at the table, the other chairs taken up by the other members on the council via holocall. The centre of the table had become a screen with the galaxy on it, currently it had enlarged around Corellia where a battle was taking place, Arl was ordering the Jedi present on the planet through the battle while conducting the meeting with the council who all appeared to be doing the same thing, all being interrupted by aids several times as more information came in.  From the sound of it they were all focused on different battles, possibly more than one if the way Arlie quickly zoomed out and back in on another planet was any indication.

“Alright Poof I’ll get the government on Alderaan, you take the battle on Dantooine, Adi I need you to take over Corellia, and Ki you’re in charge of the Outer Rim.  The separatists don’t appear to be targeting them too much however it’s only a matter of time before they realise the strategic advantage it would give them so rally your forces.  Everyone we all know we won’t be able to control things like this for long so start delegating now.  We are woefully unprepared for any of this, so do your best to get your shit together, and let’s go save the Republic.” Arl says before signing off of the council and turning to face them.

“Hello?” Mace says not quite sure what was happening.

“Hi, glad you’re back and that you’re all alive.  Ani doesn’t look heartbroken so I’m assuming Amidala is alive as well.  I have to contact Alderaan, then I can put Tahl in charge of this temporarily unless something comes up, which it probably will.  If you’ll go wait in the old council chambers I’ll catch you up.” She says though it’s clearly an order not a request, they all nod uncertainly before moving as directed.  As they leave the room they hear Arlie speak once again, “Senator Organa.”

“Master Aa, would you kindly inform me as to what the hell is going on?!” The Senator demands heatedly just as the door closes behind them.  It’s an hour later before she turns up in the council chamber.

“Sorry about the delay, apparently the Chancellor has told all the systems that this temple is running the show and all problems or queries should be sent to me.  Which makes sense but is also a bitch to deal with.” She tells them speaking rather fast as she moves to sit down in her council seat, Mace and Yoda had done the same while Obi and Ani had just sat down in one of the seats uncaring of who it belonged to.

“What _is_ happening though?” Anakin asks concern etched all over his face earning a reprimanding look from all Jedi present save for his sister.

“The Chancellor used his emergency powers to order the Jedi to take control of the clone troopers and lead them into battle.  The other councillors have each taken charge of a temple, a few have doubled up depending on the size of the temple.  When Mace and Master Yoda went to save you, I took over here.  We’ve been using the newly converted war room to coordinate our efforts, make sure no one is accidentally doubling up on battles as we rush to mobilize forces we didn’t have.  The Jedi weren’t made for this, luckily the clones were.  We’ve established a ranking system, congratulations Masters Yoda and Windu, you’re both High Generals of the Grand Army of the Republic, Obi-Wan you’re a General and Ani a Commander.  Such is the same for all Masters, Padawans, and Council Members.  Since this war came seemingly out of nowhere, the senate, politicians, systems, planets, they’ve no idea what’s happened, I’ve been left with the job of catching them all up while attempting to run the backend of this war. General Eerin and Commander Harril are on the front lines of the biggest battle currently taking place on Corellia, they’ve got the 18th battalion with them and have reinforcements coming to their aid in the form of General Giiett and the 115th battalion.”

“You sent Micah to war?!” Mace says in an outburst of anger earning him a very authorative glare from Arlie suggesting she had not the time nor the care to deal with his disapproval.

“I sent _everyone_ to war General, Giiett is one of the best combatants working with us, did you expect me to hide him away?  We need everyone we can get.” She replies harshly and in a way that shows she’s had to justify similar actions several times over the past few days, it shocked Mace though.  “I apologise, none of us like this situation and I understand you needing to process it, we’ve had three days to get used to the fact that none of us will get the chance to do so, you need to as well.  We need to get you out and fighting.  The Council voted yesterday what to do upon your return. I’m sorry to say that only Yoda is remaining in temple.  Mace, you’re to take control of intelligence based operations from the facility we’re setting up, the location of which is currently known only to myself and the Master of Shadows.  We have a Shadow waiting to take you there as soon as we are done here.  General Kenobi, you’re to take control of the 212 th battalion, Commander Skywalker you have the 501st.”

“You’re sending my Padawan out alone?” Obi-Wan asks incredulous.

“Obi-Wan we are stretched too thin as it is to baby your twenty-year-old Padawan.  He’s taking Airforce, you’re on ground strike.  Everyone report to the hanger bay in the next two hours, you’ll find the waiting transports there. Good luck.  I have to get back.  Yoda, if you’ll come with me.” She says leading the troll out of the room.

“I’ve no idea who that was, but it wasn’t my Padawan.” Mace says when she leaves.

“I’ll tell you who it was, High General Arl Aa of the Grand Army of the Republic.  We best do as she says.” Obi-Wan replies.

Three hours later Yoda sent Arl to get some rest.  It was decided that at least one would be awake at a time.  When she got to her quarters, very empty now that Bellan was on a space station near Yavin, she called Micah knowing he would be off duty until they reached Corellia.

“Hey Arlie.” He says, she can practically hear the smile in his voice.

“Hi Master, how goes the battle cruiser?  You’re the first to command one.” Arl says trying for small talk and failing, to her relief he laughs.

“It’s actually, wait what is it you say, a ‘pretty sweet ride’?” He says, she chuckles, “You finally off duty?” He asks, he’s been worried about her.  It’s been three days since war broke out and in that time she’s been in control of the largest part of the fleet.  The coordination between the councillors appears to be working amazingly well for people famous for disagreeing on everything.

“Well Yoda got back so after catching him up Terza tattled on me and I got sent to bed, despite the fact that this is still technically my temple until dawn.” Arl complains, it fails when she yawns the second she stops talking.

“Everyone get back okay?” Micah asks missing his mate already.

“Winni is pissed with me but otherwise yeah.”

“Why is he annoyed at you? You’ve done an amazing job.”

“Thank you, but he’s mad because I sent you out and had little patience to deal with his dislike of my decision.  I had to try to catch them up in the time it took between finally briefing the governing body on Alderaan and reconnecting with the other councillors when new information regarding Corellia came up, you got the last databurst right?”

“Arlie you’re off duty.” Mic reminds her calmly.

“Right, sorry…but you did yeah?”

“Yes, I did, now will you please stop worrying about the war for a few hours?” He requests, she sighs which he takes as affirmation, “So he unfortunately got you halfway between diplomat and High General mode…”

“I do not have different modes!” She interrupts genuinely annoyed, he rolls his eyes even though she can’t see it.

“He’s pissed because you sent me out?  I’ll call him and tell him to get over it, now how’s my other Padawan doing?” she smiles.

“He’s here actually, and off duty I believe, want me to get him?”

“Please.” Arlie heads off to Garen’s quarters where she finds him laying on his couch but knows he isn’t asleep.

“Yo, asshole.” She says kicking his feet so she can sit down, he promptly puts his feet up on her lap.

“Hello dear Sister-Padawan, stopped being a control freak of a General yet?” Garen asks without opening his eyes.

“For the moment, I have our dear Master here.” She tells him, he cracks open an eyelid and sees the commlink in his best friend’s hand.

“Hey Master, which one are you?” He asks knowing Mace had to have returned because Arl couldn’t take a break until Yoda was here.  He also knew that Mace will have left already.

“The far better looking one.” Mic replies with a smile in his voice.

“Wow, Mace the comm makes you sound weird.” Garen replies grinning wide at the huff he receives. “Did you hear?” He asks suddenly sitting up excitedly, Arl rolls her eyes knowing what’s coming.

“I’ve heard a lot of things over the last few days, you’ll have to be more specific.”

“Man, it’s been three days and already the war has made everyone assholes, anyway, they’re giving me joint command of a battle cruiser, it’ll be fully equipped with fighters that I shall control when we go into battle in space, and whoever I’m posted with will control the cruiser during those times, otherwise we do it together.  It’ll have a single battalion on it but a good portion will be pilots.” Garen says sounding ecstatic.

“Wow, sounds like whoever was in charge of personnel placement knew where you’d be most useful.” Mic says an accusatory tone to his voice with no real malice.  Garen looks at Arl with a suspicious look and is rewarded with a sheepish smile, he launches forward to hug her.

“Oh my gods I love you Arlie!” He says in an honest to god squeal, then realises what he just said and freezes while Arl stiffens in his arms.  Then she relaxes against him.

“I love you too dear, how could I let such a great posting go to anyone but my capable best friend who’s the best person for the job anyway.”  She says to gloss over the awkwardness.

“So, can you tell me who I’m stationed with?” Garen asks, three days in and everyone was picking up weird army lingo, he blamed Judicial for that.

“Commander Siri Tachi, which Adi was not happy about but couldn’t dispute that her Padawan was perfect for the job and would be able to put up with you.” She tells them earning a laugh from her Master and an indignant look from her best friend.

“All right now Padawans listen, tomorrow Garen ships out and all of us will be separated for the first time in sixteen years, it’s unlikely we’ll all be off-duty at the same time again for a while, we all have the dual comm units so if you desperately need one of us we send a message to all three and hope we get lucky and one can talk.  It’ll be important to support each other when we can.  We will all be in very stressful situations so don’t run yourselves into the ground or you’ll be of no use to anyone.  Arlie, the things the group talked about, is there anyway any of it can still move forward?” Micah asks to the confusion of his Padawan who had been on a mission.

“None, we thought we had more time, at this point unless we are resorting to straight up assassination, there’s nothing we can do.  To be honest though we may be better off with an untrustworthy murderer in power than a power vacuum we can’t currently fill. It would be an anarchy that we can’t afford.  But I’m on Coruscant for the foreseeable future so I’ll see what I can do and keep you updated.” She tells him before mouthing later to her friend’s lost look.

“All right but be careful, we need you far more than we need him gone.  I’d better go get some sleep while I can, we should be arriving in four hours so I got two hours more downtime.”

“Go take a nap Master, good luck and for god’s sake don’t die.” Arlie says as she terminates the link.  “Sheev Palpatine murdered his wife in front of his three kids, he’s also Mace’s half-brother.  Dooku is in trouble and a friend of Palpatine’s, there’s a possibility that Sheev is a Sith and a possibility that Dooku knows.” She sums up, “Group was scheming on ways to deal with it before it started a war, we started our scheming too late.”

“Okay, I’ll ask questions when I process that but it’ll have to be later.  How are you doing?” Arl sighs tiredly and slumps against him.

“I don’t know G, when I was a little kid I’d lay in bed at night and wish I were anywhere but there.  A war, somewhere with magic, with excitement, adventure.  Some screwed situation that left me in mortal danger, or in command of an entire army.  For it to actually happen though… I always thought people whose childhood dreams came true were lucky, I never considered the consequences of mine.”  She smiles and laughs with no amusement, “My Mama used to caution me on that ‘be careful what you wish for Phoebe, one day it may come true.’  I figured given how outrages my wishes were, I was safe from it.” Garen pulls her into another hug.

“This life will take some getting used to, for all of us, but we’ll get there.  The war won’t last forever, for all we know it’ll end tomorrow.  Plus, we’re fighting droids, so when we have big wins, people haven’t died, that means we can guilt free enjoy it.  No one that goes to war gets to do that.”  Garen says, admittedly she hadn’t considered that and it did relieve some of the worry weighing over her, but honestly, it was the casualties on their side she was most concerned about.

“We should get some sleep while we can, who knows when our next chance will be.”

“Do you want to stay here to nap? It’s just, it’s too empty without Reeft.  I figured you’d get that without Bellan.” She nods sadly wishing, not for the first time, that she could have assigned them to this temple, but alas, they were both needed elsewhere more.  They both fell asleep in Reeft and Garen’s bed thinking of the days when they were young and shared the single padawan bed in one of their quarters because one of the Padawan/Master pairs couldn’t be bothered going back to their quarters.  So much had changed and yet, somethings never would.  They hoped.


	13. Endless, Hopeless, Wanting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More War, and a silent promise.

The first three months of the war went pretty well for the Republic,  Arlie was earning quite a reputation for herself in many different ways, she had become the unofficial leader of the Republic’s entire war effort, the clones liked her being in charge because she was one of very few who treated them as people and not replaceable ammunition, the Jedi liked her because she made sure she knew enough about a person when reassigning them to know that they wouldn’t just be helpful but also enjoy it the best they could during a war, governments of planets and star systems liked that she kept them updated on the battles going on around or in them.  Yoda absolutely hated her because he was the one who spoke with the senate and often worked directly with the Chancellor.  Her focus was more on the battles and the war than the political side of things, more practical than theoretical.

 She had not seen either of her Masters nor Garen since they all left and had not had the chance to speak to any of them in a month, to the general public, Yoda was in charge, but everyone actually in the war, yes including the politicians, knew she was.  Turns out the first three days of the war establish leadership that does not easily change afterwards.

 In short, the first three months went well, then Jedi began falling.  At first it was just one or two, they were sent back to Coruscant, rehabilitated and sent back out, but it started happening with more frequency.  In three months half the Jedi had fallen at least once, so long as they were still fighting for the Republic it was tolerated for the remainder of the battle before they were brought to a mind healer and sent back out as soon as possible.  Twice now a fallen Jedi had turned on those they should have been fighting with and had to be killed before they decimated the Republic’s forces.  This was exactly why Arlie had done her best to make sure two Jedi were at every posting, if one fell there was someone to stop them. 

Everyone was growing nervous about what would happen if the ones in charge fell, a fear that was realized when Even Piell fell, he killed three Jedi before Plo Koon managed to stop him, all the responsibility he had could no longer be trusted to him.  After he was back on the light side they sent him to help in other areas, not wanting to put him in charge of a temple again.  Unfortunately that left Master Koon on his own, having been on the council before, Micah Giiett was promoted and took his place, leaving Bant and her Padawan to control two battalions on their own since the battle on Corellia had not yet been won nor lost.

After Piell everyone became worried about more falling, specifically what would happen if Arlie fell.  They seemed to be waiting for it to happen while simultaneously having faith it wouldn’t, Arl thought it all ridiculous.  Then some news came from the 212th during a council meeting.  Yoda and Arlie stood in the war room facing the table occupied by the holograms of all the council members and one of Obi.

“General Kenobi, what have you to report?” Arl asks, everyone was more than used to her command mode now and she had been forced to begrudgingly accept that it existed.

“We’ve found who is behind this, who is leading the separatist armies.” He says looking half mad with how wide his eyes were, he was also dripping wet and panting.

“Who?” Master Billaba asks concerned, the expression shared by her former Master, Mace, who wasn’t talking to Arlie at the moment after she all but forced Micah back onto the council, Mic had understood but Mace wasn’t yet acclimated to the war especially since he was in intelligence and so only came to meetings when he had something to report or was specifically requested.

“I-I’m so sorry Arlie.” Obi says looking her in the eyes, for a moment she thought it must have been Xanatos who had gone underground after war broke out, but then he continued talking, “It’s Count Dooku, Masters, though he goes by a different name now.” He tells them, they hear a bunch of things crashing in the back ground somewhere out of view.  “Anakin that’s not helping anyone.” Everyone in the room winced when the next crash came.

“It’s helping me.” They hear though the crashing does stop.

“Commander Skywalker, would you mind joining this briefing.” Master Poof says testily, the war had not mellowed him.

“A briefing, oh I see you want to know what happened.  How about SOMEONE WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT US JUST TRIED TO KRIFFING KILL US!” Anakin yells at them before stalking out of the room.

“Sorry about him, Dooku took out a large portion of his men and he blames himself.” Obi-Wan explains.

“Obi is he, I mean…” Arlie asks in a rare show of fear, Obi shook his head.

“He’s not in danger of falling.” He replies, she breathes out a sigh of relief before composing herself.

“Alright, so Dooku is in charge, this gives us an advantage.” Arl tells them earning several incredulous looks.

“He won’t take mercy Arlie, believe me.” Obi-Wan warns sadly.

“I know that, but we know him, we know how he thinks.  We can predict him.  I’ll look over the way the separatists have been attacking with Dooku’s leadership in mind, I might find something I’ve missed before.”  They all nod their agreement with her.

“More troops we shall send, to replace those lost.” Yoda tells Obi-Wan, Arlie wishes she could openly glare at him but the two needed to present a unified front, they’d likely argue about it later as they usually do.

“And by that he means we’ll send some more men to replenish your numbers, we all mourn those lost and fight to make sure their sacrifice was not in vain.” Arlie tells him, Yoda nods and smiles slightly at Obi-Wan who looks grateful for the words.

“I’ll pass that message on General Aa, General Yoda.” Obi-Wan says they hear blaster fire in the distance and then a clone pokes his head in.

“General, more droids have been deployed, Commander Skywalker has led the charge in the air, the ground forces are mobilizing awaiting your command sir.” The clone tells him.

“Thank you Commander Cody, Generals.” Obi-Wan says before terminating the call.

“So Dooku is in charge, Qui-Gon would be severely pissed off if he were here.” Master Tiin says quietly, they all nod in agreement except Arlie.

“Well we don’t know that Dooku has fallen, just that he hates us which we knew anyway.  So really Qui-Gon should still consider Xanatos to be the bigger betrayal.” Master Poof tells them all earning him several looks of disbelief, some of outright horror, and a few that seemed to agree with him.

“They’re completely different circumstances Master Poof and cannot be accurately compared.  Nor should they given that Master Jinn is not with us to be angry and he wouldn’t have anyway.  He’d have dealt with things as we should be instead of sitting around reminiscing over who’s screwed us over the most.  Now, what’s the latest on Corellia?” Arlie asks trying to get back to business, it had been nearly as long as the war itself since she had been able to meditate successfully so her ability to deal with that conversation was at an all time low.

“Eerin has launched another wave at the base the droids have set up, now that they’ve given the pilots some fighters, Junior Commander Harril has launched a campaign from the air.  They are hopeful for its success which is more than can be said for the last few, if it does fail I’d like to request that General Muln and Commander Tachi be redirected to help them out.  The Corellian government will contact us if things go so sideways that Eerin can’t, but either way we should know more in an hour.” Micah tells them, having been monitoring the battle since he knew the situation, Arl nods in understanding.

 ** _“I don_** ** _’t know that Muln and Tachi can be spared, they_** ** _’re fighting over Dantooine and are losing ground as is._** ** _”_** Arlie says through the bond she has with Yoda, they thought it prudent to be able to relay information while he is with the senate and so created a pair-bond much to each other’s chagrin.  The council have learnt that when they discuss this way during a council meeting they are deliberating over something that the others will not enjoy hearing and should just wait for them to come to a decision.

**_“Prioritise we may have to if badly this goes, Dantooine or Corellia._ ** **_”_ **

**_“Both are too important to allow to fall._ ** **_”_ **

**_“Agree with you I do, send one we shall and remain the other will._ ** **_”_ **

**_“Send Tachi with a quarter of the battalion, have her meet up with Piell_ ** **_’s small platoon, together you have a decent amount of reinforcements, whichever Battle is over first should go reinforce the other.  Piell should remain with Eerin afterwards, fills the two Jedi quota._ ** **_”_ **

**_“Agree with you I do, dying we both must be._** ** _”_** The joke may have been in poor taste, but they both were still amused by it. “Have reinforcements they will if fail they do.” Yoda tells Micah who nods gratefully.  They hear an explosion in the background of one of the calls and for a moment don’t know which.

“Sorry about that.” Mace says unperturbed.

“What was that?” Master Koon asks in concern.

“Nothing to be concerned about I assure you.” Mace answers, putting him in intelligence had made him increasingly reticent, he wouldn’t say boo to a goose anymore.

“You’re spending too much time around Master Bordo, the Master of Shadows is converting you.” Micah says jokingly.

“While I do appreciate the faith you put in my ability to do so, I promise I’m not converting your life partner Master Giiett.” The Shadow in question says as she walks into the frame, Micah visually swallows as several council members try not to laugh.

“Junahl, you look well.” Mic says, she smiles cheerily at him which did not bode well for him.

“All right is there anything else that needs to be addressed? If not, I’d like to wrap this up, I have an appointment to keep.” Arl tells them.

“Done here we are not but go you should, more important some things must be.” Yoda says with a twinkle in his eye that tells her he knows exactly where she’s going.

“We have a meeting with the Chancellor in two hours remember, I shall meet you in the chamber then.” She tells the troll.

“You still use the old council chamber?”  Master Mundi asks surprised.

“Only as a more private meeting room for things such as speaking with the Chancellor when he decides to visit in person.” Arlie says before bowing respectfully and leaving, she heads down to the crèche and is immediately tackled by her intended target.

“Master Aa!” Quilo Harril says as she hugs the councillor.

“Hello Quilo.” Arl replies much more sedately.

“How’s Grey doing, Master?” She asks as she always does when Arl manages to come down, even if only for a few minutes.

“Your sister is doing great, she’s leading a squadron of pilots all by herself right now.” Arl says with a smile, the eight-year-old looks elated for a moment before concerned.

“But Master, doesn’t that mean she’s in danger?”  Arl doesn’t respond, apparently that’s answer enough for the young girl who looks to be about to cry for a moment before she forces herself to calm down. “Master Aa I want to help.”

“You want to what?” she replies ineloquently.

“I want to join the fighting, I don’t want to be here playing and training like always when Grey is flying out there trying to keep me safe.  She’s afraid of heights Master!” Quilo tells her as the tears make a reappearance before the girl once again settles herself.

“Quilo, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but you’re eight-years-old, you aren’t even old enough to be a Padawan.”

“Only by a year, and you were a Padawan when you were eight.  You were knighted at thirteen Master and you helped people, there _is_ somewhere I can help.”

“And where is that?” Arl says to humour the girl who was making an unfortunate amount of sense.

“With you.  Take me as your Padawan, Master Aa, if I am helping you then I am helping everyone.” She juts her chin out determinedly, it hurts Arl to see how grown up these kids had had to become when faced with the very real threat of war.

“Quilo, I don’t want you in this war until there is no other option, I don’t want you at risk.” Arlie says honestly.

“Then teach me to protect myself.”

“I don’t have time for a padawan, I can’t teach you anything while running an entire war effort Initiate Harril.” Arl says fiercely immediately regretting it, the girl just got a vicious look in her eyes which worried Arlie.

“Watching you is the perfect way to learn politics and negotiating, multi-tasking, how battles are run, how the council works, it’s the centre of everything.  If I cannot learn there then I cannot learn down here.  Please Master, I can do this, trust me.”  Arlie looks the girl over and recognises the look she’s giving her, it was the exact same as the one she vividly remembered giving Mace several times as a child.

“Master Penn, I’m keeping this one.” Arl calls making the little girl jump and squeal happily before running over to hug her new Master.

“Taking a Padawan right now, is that wise?” Jey-Sahl asks, not a lack of belief but concern for her friend.

“Doubt it but she’s not taking no for an answer.” She replies fondly, Jey-Sahl smiles.

“You two will work well together then, I’m sure.” She says before nodding for Arl to take the girl.

“Alright, we have a meeting soon with the Chancellor during which you will remain still and quiet.  If you have questions about what happens remember them and ask when we have a free moment later.  We’ve an hour and a half before that meeting so let’s get your stuff and move it up to our quarters, we’ll do your braid and see if we have time for your new tunics after that.”  A half hour later they are about halfway through packing when Arlie’s comm chimes.

“Go ahead, I’ve got her.” Jey-Sahl says, Arlie smiles in thanks.

“Aa.”

“General, we have reports coming on from Corellia, the latest campaign was successful and General Yoda has redeployed all troops to Dantooine.” The voice of a young Jedi Knight monitoring several different lines of communication.

“Thank you Knight Gart.” Arl says glad to have been updated.

“There’s something else, General Kenobi has a trail on General Grievous and would like to discuss it with you.” Arl sends a plea to the gods that she can catch a break sometime soon.

“I’ll be in the war room in five.” She tells her before disconnecting and turning back to her new padawan. “We’re going to have to do this later I’m afraid, we’ve got a call to take.” Instead of being put out about not moving her stuff, the girl looks excited about being pulled all over the place to do things.

“I’ll get this stuff moved up and outside your room.” Jey-Sahl says.

“Thank you.” Arl says.

“Thank you for everything Master Penn.” Quilo says bowing and then hugging the Master who has raised her thus far.

“The pleasure was mine little one, you’d better go, you’ve a busy padawanship ahead of you.” Jey-Sahl tells the girl after hugging her back, reminding Arlie of when she was first made a Padawan at the same age and one of the first things she ever said to Micah was the word ‘padawanship’. It was both hard and easy to believe it was nearly eighteen years ago now.  Shaking off the memory, Arlie leads her new charge to the war room.

“Obi-Wan, what can I do for you?  I have a meeting in half an hour so make it quick.” She requests noticing more time had passed than she’d realised.

“Of course General, we have intelligence that Grievous is making a move on Naboo tomorrow.” Obi-Wan tells her confusing her though she doesn’t let it show.

“We have forces on Naboo that can defend it, send them a word of warning, file a report, continue with your work, you don’t need me for this.” She says impatiently earning her a look from Obi.

“Yes, that I could have worked out on my own thank you.  The problem is that my dear Padawan has gone to ensure his…friend’s... safety.” Arl mutters a curse.

“Dammit Obi-Wan, just go after him, okay?” She says pinching the bridge of her nose.

“We can’t allow this position to fall, I’m waiting on Vos to get here, we think he may be able to track down Dooku with what’s here.” He explains looking frustrated.

“This is exactly why you don’t allow your Padawan to go off half-cocked every time his ‘friend’ is in danger.  She’s a Senator for god’s sake, she’s going to be in danger the entire war.”

“Yes, I am aware of all this General, feel free to have this conversation with _him_ , force knows he hasn’t heard me the last three times.  How would you like me to proceed?”

“When will he arrive at Naboo?” She asks with a sigh.

“Sometime before dawn.” A look at the chrono showed it to be 13th hour.

“All right, the moment Vos gets there plot a course to Coruscant.” Obi-Wan looks surprised at the strange orders.

“What of Anakin?”

“I’m going to go to Naboo and deal with him myself, you can pick him up here when you arrive.”  Obi-Wan grimaces.

“Yes General.” He says before bowing and disconnecting.

“Padawan, come sit next to me.” Arlie requests, Quilo complies immediately, “Have you any questions on what just happened?” She asks as she begins braiding her students Padawan Braid, Quilo smiles widely when she realizes what is happening.

“Why are we going to Naboo? Couldn’t Commander Skywalker come here on his own? Aren’t you busy, Master?” Quilo asks quizzically.

“He could, however he is more likely to be scared into submission if I go there and handle this personally, he’s also partially my responsibility.  And yes, I am busy, but Anakin has put three Battalions at risk with his actions here, he’s always been reckless but it’s going too far.”

“Why is he your responsibility?” Arlie takes a moment to consider the question.

“Everyone under my command is my responsibility, but as there are so many I can’t very well take the blame for all of their actions because I can’t micro-manage the entire Republic.  Anakin is different from that, he’s my younger brother and that means it’s not his actions that are my responsibility, that falls to Master Kenobi, it’s Anakin’s _safety_ that is partially my responsibility.” Her Padawan appears deep in thought for a time, when she speaks again her braid has been completed.

“Your brother is a Commander in a war, Master, you can’t blame yourself for him being in danger, you didn’t start the war.” Arl smiles sadly.

“No, I just sent him into it.”

“To protect the Republic yes?”

“Yes.” She replies nodding slowly.

“Well he’s part of the Republic, so aren’t you protecting him by sending him out there?” Quilo asks rhetorically, smiling at her Master when she double checks and knows her logic is not flawed.

“Yes Padawan, I suppose I am.” She replies knowing she’s lost and wondering if this was how her Master felt every time Arlie thwarted him with his own words.  “Come on, we shouldn’t leave Yoda and Chancellor Palpatine waiting.”

 

When the two enter the chamber they see Yoda and Sheev there seated and waiting.  “My apologies, I had a situation that required I handle it personally.” Arlie says in lieu of a greeting, she does however bow before taking her seat and motioning for her Padawan to stand against the wall as all Council Padawans once did.

“A Padawan you have taken? The time for that it isn’t.” Yoda points out.

“If we aren’t taking students Yoda then why are we even still training them?  Besides, she decided she wanted to help in the war and apparently my side was the best place to do that from.” Arlie says glaring half-heartedly at her Padawan who gave her the most innocent expression she could manage. “If you don’t mind me asking Chancellor, what was so important that you came in person? I would imagine you’re quite a busy man these days.”

“You are quite busy yourself Master Aa, I remember when you and I first met, you were just a Padawan.” Sheev says with a smile.

“As do I Chancellor, we’ve both come a long way since that day.”

“It is relieving to see the old cycle still running.” He says looking to her padawan, she fights off the instinct to step in front of Quilo. “I’m here out of concern, we have been hearing rumours of fallen Jedi, our government worries what will happen if this continues and, with all due respect, what would happen if either one or both of you ever succumb to this dark side of the force.”

“We have contingencies in place for just such an occasion, after the first of the fallen recovered we began planning for such a day, even as we hoped it would never come to pass.  Better to have all basis covered, wouldn’t you agree Chancellor?” Arlie replies diplomatically receiving an approving nod in return.

“Well, I was of the belief you would have thought of and planned for the situation but, as it was worrying the senate, I agreed to come down personally to speak about it.  Hear it straight from the porsy’s mouth as it were.” Yoda and Arl both nodded in acknowledgement of what he was saying.

“Assure them you can that prepared we are, though an unlikely event we consider it.” Yoda replies coolly, they may argue constantly but when on the same side, Yoda and Arlie could be the unflappable duo, renowned and feared throughout the Republic and the Confederacy for never losing their political standing.

“That I will, I appreciate your time.” The Chancellor says, all three rise and give the appropriate farewell, Quilo bows respectfully earning a bow in return from the Chancellor.  The Padawan had not been expecting such a response and was elated to have been noticed by such a powerful man, if only she knew the evil lurking behind those falsely kind eyes.

“Yoda, I need you to handle things here for a few hours while I attempt to fix an ongoing problem that is currently heading for Naboo.” Arlie says after schooling her features, knowing he wouldn’t appreciate this.

“Why?” He asks simply and rudely.

“Commander Skywalker has run off to save the day again, I am going to go collect him, bring him back here, scold the pants off of him, trick him into thinking he won’t be allowed back out to fight, and then hand him back over to Kenobi when he arrives as we have discussed.” To her surprise, Yoda nods.

“A well-conceived plan this is, fail I hope it does not. Careful will you be, darkness I feel in him.” He tells her as he exits the chamber.

“What does that mean Master?” Quilo asks fearfully.

“I expect we shall find out soon enough young one.” Arl replies, “Come, we have a transport to acquire.”

 

Three hours later the two members of the padawanship arrive on Naboo and are greeted by the Queen, Senator Amidala, and General Reeft.

“High General Aa.” They each say in turn bowing with respect.

“Your Highness, Senator, General.” She replies before bowing, “This is Padawan Harril, Padawan this is Queen Neeyutnee, Senator Amidala, and General Reeft.” They all bow in greeting as does Quilo. “I apologise for our sudden presence, but there has been a complication.  We have received word that General Grievous is heading for Naboo and should arrive sometime tomorrow.”

“General Kenobi informed us of this, he also warned us of your visit but did not give a reason, not that you aren’t always welcome but from what we understand you are quite busy these days General.” Amidala says, Arlie has never actually met the girl though she hasn’t stopped hearing about her from Ani and has heard many stories that Padmè wouldn’t know of from Mace.  Arl is quite certain that she doesn’t know she’s Anakin’s sister, nor that she’s aware of her marriage with him.

“We are here to intercept a misbehaving Padawan who’s concern for the people of Naboo led him to abandon his post.” She tells them diplomatically and not allowing a hint of her frustration to come through.

“One would assume you are speaking of Commander Skywalker.” The Queen says, Arlie had forgotten how well known and loved he is among the Naboo.

“I am.”

“You’ve come to deal with him personally?” Reeft asks looking as though he is unsure whether to laugh or be terrified.

“I’m here to take him back to Coruscant.” Several shocked looks are sent her way and a look perfectly mixed between surprise and anger for her husband from the Senator.  They all seem to decide this conversation should happen more privately and so escort them to the palace.

“Are such drastic measures truly necessary?” Padmè asks attempting to hide her worry and failing as they stand in the throne room.

“The boy should consider himself lucky he’s not been marked as AWOL and a traitor of the Republic, this is the third time he’s disobeyed orders on a severe scale, he has taken it too far this time.” Arlie says a hint of her frustration slipping through.

“May I speak freely General?” Reeft asks earning him curious looks from those present, Arlie nods, “He’s gotten away with far worse for years, is it possible this has something more to do with you not wanting him to be here when Grievous attacks?” Arl glares daggers at him.

“While it is true that I’d rather he were not, it is not the reason for my actions.” Amidala looks at her closely.

“Then why are you so afraid?” She asks, Arlie debates how to answer for a moment.

“If he does not fall in line further action will need to be taken, I merely wish to protect him from that Senator as I’m sure you do as well.  I assure you, we both have his best interests at heart.” She gets a suspicious look but no further questioning, it’s an hour before they get word of Anakin’s arrival and head down to meet him in the hanger.

When he walks off of the ramp he immediately sees Padmè first and smiles, then he sees Arlie and his smile falls away, replaced with a look of fear.

“Obi-Wan reported me?” Anakin asks unsurprised as he stands in front of her, head bowed slightly. His wife is obviously surprised by him actually showing respect.  Arl knows immediately that something feels off, but it’s such a familiar off feeling that she ignores it.

“Yes.” Arlie replies tersely waiting to see what he would do.  He bites his bottom lip nervously and chances a glance upwards to see her looking at him disapprovingly.

“Look Arlie, uh, Master, no General, I can explain, you see because Grievous was coming and Vos was taking time and Obi-Wan wouldn’t listen and,” He begins but Arlie interrupts by raising a hand to silence him, he snaps his mouth shut and goes back to biting his lip, it’s honestly worrying Padmè how much he seems to care for Master Aa’s opinion.  Arl leads them all back to the throne room before finally speaking again.

“I’m going to do us all a favour and request that we drop all forms of rank for this conversation, if all feel comfortable.” Arl says, they all nod but the Queen decides she should not be present.  “Alright Anakin, if you can give me a reason here that doesn’t involve her, I may let this go.” She says nodding towards Amidala, Anakin takes a stance and expression Arlie feels is familiar but can’t place why, then she hears Reeft mutter something about Hothians but has no idea what or why.

“If you can give me a reason for you abandoning your duties on Coruscant to come here that doesn’t involve attachment, I’ll quietly accept my punishment.” He replies, Arlie falters.  Then they both start talking at once.

“Anakin I just want to protect you…”

“Protect me?! You don’t trust that I can look after myself,”

“…from Grievous and from getting into more trouble. I trust you to look after yourself it’s you following rules I don’t trust.”

“I get my men out unscathed more often than not and I just wanted to protect Naboo and I follow rules when they make sense.”  Things deteriorate until they are basically yelling half sentences at each other that don’t correlate whatsoever until, “YOU’RE JUST PISSY BECAUSE YOU’RE THE ONE THAT LET DOOKU QUIT THE ORDER IN THE FIRST PLACE!” Reeft stares at Anakin in shock while Padmè looks very confused, Anakin quickly begins backpedalling when he realises what he said. “Arls I’m sorry I didn’t me…”

“Anakin do you want to know something?  I’ve always hated the Jedi, I hated how they worked, the stupid code and I hated Yoda.  Jedi aren’t meant to hate at all.  The only reason I was staying for so long was for you.  I knew that one day you would be there and it was the only way to stay close to you.  I later developed reasons of my own, but that’s originally why.  Now my other reasons for remaining are in danger of dying every second of everyday for several different reasons AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM LEADS BACK TO ME! I came here as a favour to you Anakin, because I love you and I want you to be as safe as possible.  I also want you to be happy, that’s why our transport isn’t due to leave until midnight.  So, stop being a selfish twat and think about the things you are doing, because one day you’re going to get yourself in a hell of a lot of trouble, and when you do, it will be Obi-Wan and I that take the brunt of the blame.” Arl says angrily.

“Wait, midnight?” Quilo asks confused.

“Yes Padawan, we’re defending Naboo from an evil droid with emphysema.” Arlie tells her in a significantly calmer voice as she smiles at the young girl encouragingly.  It makes Quilo happy that her Master cares enough about her to not be snippy to her as well, even while very upset.

“Y-you mean that?” Anakin asks shocked, as was everyone else in the room.

“I’m hardly going to let my sister-in-law be on a planet targeted by a dangerous war criminal when I’m maximum three hours away.” Arlie replies as though it was obvious that she was always planning on staying.  Anakin grins at her, runs over, picks her up and twirls her around before setting her back down and hugging her tightly.

“Best sister ever.”

“You’d better bloody believe it, I have to deal with the troll after this.” Quilo looks shocked at the blatant disrespect.

“You have a sister, who knows we’re married.  I thought we agreed not to tell anyone?!” Padmè says sounding quite confused and worried.

“Yes, I do, we did and I didn’t, but she generally knows everything, even stuff we don’t know, and she won’t tell anyone.  Nor will Reeft.  Arl, introduce me to your Padawan?” Anakin asks giving his best puppy dog face.

“Ani that didn’t even work when you were nine.” She replies.

“Maybe so, but it was adorable when I was five.” He says unthinkingly. _‘sorry I missed it_ _’_ Arl thinks bitterly.

“This is Quilo Harril, Quilo, this is the troublemaker I’ve been complaining about.”

“Pleasure to meet you Quilo.”

“And you Commander.” The girl responds with a smile. “I’m glad we get to stay and help, you’re like Naboo’s saviour.”  It’s then that Arlie recognises the wrongness she feels.  Her brother feels cold.

“Excuse me, I have to make a call.” Arlie says before stepping out of the room and onto a balcony, she closes the door and then uses her comm to call a number so familiar that she has it dialling before she even consciously recognises who she’s calling.

“Windu.” He says tiredly making Arlie feel guilty at having woken him.

“Hey Winni.” She says.

“Arlie what’s wrong?” He asks immediately knowing something was very wrong just from those two words.

“I think Ani is falling.” Silence falls for a long moment.

“Are you sure?” He asks with restrained pain in his voice.  She nods before remembering he can’t see it.

“He feels cold.” She replies her voice shaking.

“Then we will save him, we’ve tons of experience recovering fallen Jedi now.”

“Yeah but those Jedi aren’t targets of a probable Sith!” Arlie hisses out quietly not wanting that to be overheard.

“We will do everything we can to save him Arlie, you know that.  But until we can find a cause for his falling we can’t do anything.”  Arlie thinks of what helped Qui-Gon after Xan fell, of what helped Xan after he fell, and the timing of Dooku leaving the order.

“Maybe we can.” She says mysteriously before they both say their goodbyes and she disconnects the call.  When she turns she sees Reeft and Padmè laughing at something Anakin and Quilo have done and knows that she was right when she was younger, she really would let the galaxy burn to save his life.


	14. Obi and Ani are the freaking worst.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the clones deserve better, and brothers are the worst.

As it turns out, Anakin’s abrupt relocation followed by Arlie’s arrival on Naboo was enough to tip off Grievous, he never showed and instead went to attack Obi-Wan’s location, thinking he was now vulnerable.  He forgot to take into account that it’s Obi-Wan, and nearly got killed, however he escaped.  Arl and Padmè did not got along, however by unspoken agreement, they did not mention that to anyone, knowing how much it would bother Anakin.  Now back on Coruscant, Arlie was giving Anakin the promised scolding.

“Now Commander, your Master has once again had to deal with the fall out of your brash decision.  I assume this time you’ve learnt your lesson, if not I will reassign you to train initiates.  I mean this Anakin, we are at war, Obi-Wan and I don’t have time to deal with your antics however noble your intentions may be.  You are just going to have to trust that I know what I’m doing when deploying troops.”  Arlie tells him calmly, he nods and bows before leaving the room.

“He’s not going to stop, is he?” Quilo asks, Arlie shakes her head.

“General,” A senior Padawan calls from behind her, Arl turns around, “We have news from Dantooine, also General Mundi has requested an audience as soon as you have a moment, and there is an unscheduled Council meeting in progress that requires your attendance.”

“Walk with me, catch me up on Dantooine.” Arlie requests as she begins making her way to the war room.

“It was a success but there were casualties, I’m afraid General Eerin was killed protecting her Padawan.  General Muln has requested he take Padawan Harril as his own, said Knight Eerin requested it.” He replies.  Arlie sucks in a breath before pushing her emotions to the side, proper meditation was definitely in order.

“All right, request granted, have him hold his location for now, depending on what news General Mundi brings me, he may find himself on the outer rim soon so he should be prepared for departure.” The Padawan nods and leaves to do as requested.

“Is, is my sister okay?”  Quilo asks when they are at the war room door.  Arlie looks to her and sees the fear in her eyes, she kneels down in front of her Padawan and puts her hands on her shoulders.

“Your sister is as okay as she can be considering she just lost her Master, but from my understanding, her and General Muln were close already, so she has someone who understands and cares for her to help her through it and continue her training.  I will try to organize for you to speak with her later today however it may not be possible.”  Arlie tells her, the girl looks reassured enough though and quickly hugs her Master before the two enter the room.

“Ah, Master Aa, your timing is impeccable.  Will you please knock some sense into this troll?” Master Tiin requests with a glare pointed to said troll.  Arlie is more than a little surprised at that, but what was worse was seeing the state of the council.  Everyone looked so run down and divided, never before had they all been stretched so far, from each other and in terms of stress and responsibility.

“That depends, what did he do?” She replies earning a glare from said troll.

“Ordered us to abandon Hoth, just because he feels it has no strategic value.” Master Ti replies, Arl looks to Yoda.

“A dangerous position for the separatists to have it is not, focus our efforts elsewhere we must.” She thinks that over and is sadly inclined to agree with him before she questions why the others aren’t, then it occurs to her.

“What’s the population of Hoth?” She asks, Micah looks absolutely aghast at the question.

“Do the numbers matter?  There are people down there!” He replies, she rolls her eyes at him.

“I worded my question badly, I merely wanted to know if there was one.  So, you all want to defend Hoth to save the population, Yoda wants to abandon it due to it’s unimportance for the rest of the war while we lose battles in places he deems more important.” Arlie summarizes in a way that makes everyone think she’s against Yoda.

“I also agree with Yoda.” Mace tells him earning a few bad looks.

“As do I.” Master Poof says surprising no one.  A few others voice their agreement.

“Master Mundi was unable to attend and so we are split 50/50 here, your vote is the decider.” Master Gallia tells her.  Arlie shocks everyone by thinking things through, both sides had assumed she’d save the lives without hesitation.  Nearly eighteen years and still they know her so little.  If she doesn’t like either option, she finds another.

“How big is the population?” Arlie asks re-earning Micah’s earlier expression but she waves her hand to calm him, “Just answer the question Mic.” She says pinching the bridge of her nose, in doing so she misses the worried looks a few members of the council send her.

“A few hundred.” Saesee replies, Arlie was aware that they had two cruisers in orbit as she and Yoda had a plan for just such an eventuality.

**_“There a reason you didn_ ** **_’t enact protocol 5?_ ** **_”_ **

**_“Time for that, there is not._ ** **_”_ **

**_“Then we bloody well make time, I_ ** **_’m not leaving them to die but you_ ** **_’re right, Hoth isn_ ** **_’t a priority._ ** **_”_ **

“We have two cruisers in orbit, evacuate the planet.  Redeploy the troops present.  Have the refugees dropped to the nearest Republic controlled planet and I’ll organize to have transports take them wherever they like.” She tells them all, most seem quite shocked but all seem pleased with the compromise.  Everyone begins disconnecting until only one remains.

“General, Master Bordo would like to request a meeting between the three of us when you have a moment.  Preferably held in the old Council Chamber.” Mace informs her, she nods.

“Yes, you aren’t alone in that, I’ll contact you as soon as I can.” She tells him.  He bows his head before disconnecting as well.

“A meeting with the senate I must attend, handle things here you will?” Yoda requests, she nods as she leans puts her hands on the table in front of her and leans on it slightly.  “When return I do, a nap you will take.” He tells her before leaving the room.  Arlie checks her Padawan is alright before calling Master Mundi whose hologram appears instantaneously.

“General Mundi, what can I do for you?” She asks, her General mask firmly back in place as she stands with her feet shoulder width apart and hands clasped behind her back.

“You were right, it was only a matter of time before they hit the outer rim.”  Master Mundi tells her just as the holocall’s image falters for a moment and, wherever Master Mundi is, obviously gets hit by something.

“You’re under attack, do you require reinforcements?” Arl asks.

“Yes, we do, but something is more important.  I need you to get a message to Mace, I don’t know where he is so I can’t.  Dooku is on Tatooine, we don’t know why, but he’s planning something.  He’s made a deal of some kind with Jabba the Hutt.” Arlie’s face pinches.

“This is not good news.  Padawan, would you use that terminal there to contact General Muln and inform him he’s to take his forces and join Master Mundi in orbit above Ryloth.” Arl requests, her Padawan’s eyes go wide but she does as instructed.  “I am about to speak with Mace, I will relay the information.  Is there anything else?” Arl asks, Mundi nods.

“Ryloth has fallen.  Will Muln have enough to help re-take it?  Assuming we survive this?” Ki asks, it worries Arlie that he thinks they may not, though she hides it perfectly.  Arl does a quick calculation in her head.

“There were a few situations and Muln now has three battalions with him, two cruisers fully stocked with Fighters, plus he has Tachi.  At the very least you can build a sizable resistance on the planet.”

“They are on their way Master.” Quilo informs her, both Masters smile at her.

“I did not realise you had taken a Padawan, congratulations to you both.” Ki tells them as he bows before disconnecting the call.

“We had something else to do, didn’t we?  Besides the call with the shadows.” Arlie clarifies as she looks at her Padawan.

“I believe you were hoping to Meet with General Kenobi when he arrives in half an hour.  Assuming nothing really bad happens he should still be there after this meeting.” Quilo replies, Arlie has a very proud smile on her face.  Only two days into her padawanship and already the girl was flourishing.  Wait, it had been two days and they hadn’t stopped.  At least they had eaten and the girl had taken a nap on the transport from Naboo.  Still Jey-Sahl would not be impressed, a nap for them both was definitely in order upon Yoda’s returns.

“Thank you Padawan, we’ll stop by the commissary after seeing Obi-Wan, possibly with him if they aren’t busy.” She promises earning a blinding smile from the young girl.  The two walk down the hall to the old Chamber and begin a holocall with the two shadows, since Junahl had granted Mace the title of Honorary Shadow.

“Master Aa, it is good to see you.” Master Bordo tells her as she bows along with Mace.

“And you, I understand you wanted to speak with me.”

“Yes, as you know we have several listening posts set up but I’d like to send in some Jedi to Separatist controlled worlds, they may be able to find more information to relay back.” She suggests.

“That does seem to be an intelligent course of action but risky.  There aren’t a great deal of planets under their control, at least not yet.  In light of that I’d recommend the assignments be volunteers from those assigned to you but intelligence operations are your domain and it is ultimately your decision.  I appreciate you bringing me into this.” Junahl bows slightly to her but Mace looks concerned.

“Are things not going well?  We have been getting regular updates due to the nature of our work but you tend to know things before we do.”

“Bant’s dead.  Garen is controlling three Battalions with Tachi and he’s taken on Bant’s old Padawan. They are going to the outer rim because the separatists finally hit and General Mundi is under attack.  He doesn’t seem certain of their survival.” Arlie explains, the other two both flinch at her words. “He had a message for you.  Dooku is on Tatooine, we need to find out why.  He’s made a deal with Jabba and we don’t know what.”

“We have people on Tatooine, we’ll get a report and contact both of you when we know more.” Mace tells her after silently conferring with his partner.  Arl wasn’t sure if they had created a bond like she and Yoda had or if they had just developed the ability to read each other well after so long together in close quarters.  Arlie was also surprised to hear they had people on the planet already.  She knew more than most and was the only one who could contact them though they can contact anyone, but still the inner workings of the intelligence operations were kept very quiet due to their nature and importance. “And Arlie, I’m sorry about Bant.  Have you told Tahl?” Arl mutters a curse earning a reprimanding looks from her Padawan.

“Sorry Quilo, no Mace I haven’t, to be honest it didn’t occur to me.  I’ll take care of that when we are done here.” She tells him.

“Master, we are supposed to be seeing Knight Kenobi when he arrives to get Skywalker.” Quilo reminds her Master who nods.

“Right, thank you Padawan, after that and the commissary we’ll talk to Tahl.” Arlie says remembering the promise of food, Quilo looked cheerful that she remembered that part.

“Arlie when was the last time you slept?” Mace asks, “And why is Anakin on Coruscant?  He’s supposed to be with Obi-Wan near Kashyyk isn’t he?” Arl mutters under her breath.

“Yes, he very much is supposed to be, but Grievous was going to hit Naboo and Ani split to save them so I went and got him.  And three days ago, but Yoda has ordered I take a nap when he returns from the Senate.”

“I’m assuming the Skywalker situation has been dealt with then? If you went to get him in person.” Master Bordo asks, it surprises Arlie often that after changing her name people outside the council seem completely unaware of her real name or ties to Anakin.  Though she often forgets that she wasn’t always Arl Aa.

“Well he certainly wasn’t expecting it.  I think what happened next with Obi certainly helped with the guilt tripping I gave him after the yelling and scolding and threatening.” Quilo giggles slightly at the memory despite her best efforts not to. Arlie herself was wearing quite a self-satisfied smirk.  “But no, I highly doubt this is the last time such a thing shall occur, though hopefully he’ll at least have thought things through more thoroughly next time.”  They wrap things up and disconnect the call, Arl and Quilo immediately head to the hanger where they find Obi-Wan in the middle of yelling at Anakin.

“…you stay. Put. Understood?!” He asks angrily.

“Yes Master, and I really am sorry, I guess I just didn’t think things through.  But Arlie’s right, it’s not just me and my battalion that I put at risk.  I’ll do better next time I promise.” Anakin replies surprising Obi-Wan who then notices their approach from behind Ani.

“Well Master Aa, you’ve done the impossible, he listened.” Obi says, Anakin turns around and finds the two there.

“Only took eleven years.  It’s wonderful to see you again in person Obi.” Arlie says as the two hug.

“And you Arl, you must be Quilo, it’s nice to meet you.” He replies before bowing to the young girl who bows back.

“It an honour to meet you General.  They talk about you in the crèche all the time, you seem less crazy in person though.” She says looking thoughtful and earning a laugh from Anakin, Obi, Arlie, and several of Obi and Anakin’s nearby troops.

“Just wait til you spend more time with him young one, now Obi-Wan, who are these guys? I like them, they laugh at you.” Arl says turning her attention to the clones who look a little shocked to be getting recognition.

“This is Commander Cody and Captain Rex, that’s Fives, and that there is Echo.” He replies, the clones often don’t know why he bothers introducing them to the higher ups by their names when they end up called by their designations anyway.

“Cody, Rex, Fives, and Echo, now why couldn’t I get a cool name like that!” Arl complains shocking the pants off of the clones for a second time.

“Because you let yourself get named by your best friend while said friend was high as a kite.” Anakin replies instantly.

“Fair point, well I’ve heard many things about you men, some great things and some interesting things.  You do good work.” Arl praises.

“Thank you General.” Rex replies.

“You’re welcome Captain Rex.” Arl says, Rex was beginning to feel guilty for being surprised when the girl in front of him was nice but he still wasn’t expecting her to remember his name even though they’d just been given.  “My Padawan and I were about to go to the commissary, would the six of you care to join us?” She offers, Rex makes a promise to himself to stop being so pessimistic and accept that this woman appreciated the clones as people.  They all agree and Quilo looks ecstatic immediately asking what it’s like out there and about the clones and anything she could think of, for their part Rex, Fives and Echo just humoured the girl though Cody didn’t seem to want to share battle stories, Arlie thinks he was worried about scaring the girl.

“So, how’s the war going from this end?” Obi-Wan asks curiously when they all have food.

“Good days and bad, we’re really appreciating all the times you manage to negotiate your way out of an impending battle.” Arl tells him not wanting to mention Bant until she’s spoken to Tahl.

“Unfortunately it only works when it’s people we are fighting. Well, except during that space battle a month ago.” Obi-Wan tells her sadly.

“On the upside, if it’s not then they’re only droids and you aren’t killing anyone.” Obi nods conceding to her point.

“Unfortunately, if the trade federation keeps getting involved there are going to be a lot more people to deal with.” He replies looking as troubled by it as Arlie feels.

“Oh my gods, are you two capable of talking about anything other than work?” Anakin asks pausing his own conversation.

“Sure Anakin, how’s life, oh wait, war.  Small talk’s going great huh?” Arlie replies incredibly sarcastically.

“Oh shut up asshole, I was only suggesting you guys actually be off duty when off duty, or taking a break or whatever.” Ani replies.

“You guys never head of insubordination or something?” Fives asks, he’s used to hearing it from Anakin to Obi but had not expecting it to her.

“I’m not calling The High General Of The Republic Fleet an asshole, I’m calling my sister an asshole.  There’s a difference.”

“She’s your sister?” Rex asks at the same time Arlie says “High general of the what now?”

“That’s what they’re calling you out there.” Obi-Wan explains to Arlie who drops her head into her hands.

“I think it sounds cool.” Quilo tells her with a smile.

“I like this Junior Commander, can we replace Skywalker with her?” Echo asks feeling comfortable enough with the situation to make the joke, Quilo smiles while Anakin throws some bread at him.

“I’m a Junior Commander?” Quilo asks surprised since she hasn’t heard the term before.

“Yeah, so is your sister.” Arl says.

“Wizard.” She replies.

“You guys ship out again tomorrow, right?” Arl asks, all present nod, “Maybe you two should go visit your parents and Owen while you’re here.” Arlie suggests, they both look at her.

“They’re on Coruscant?!” They both yell simultaneously.

“I forgot you didn’t know that, they moved here over a year ago, you were on Naboo when I found out Anakin, and Obi you were looking for Kamino.” Arl explains.

“At least you finally saw Mum.” Anakin says earning a glare from his sister.

“And I met Cliegg, not sure that Winni made a good first impression given he was drunk as a skunk at the time.” Arl says earning some weird looks.

“Master Windu was drunk?” “Drunk as a Skunk?” Echo and Quilo ask at the same time.

“Forgive her language, she was raised by pirates.” Anakin tells Echo.

“Imma cut off your testicles and feed them to you in a minute.” Arlie says pointing her fork at him as he grins smugly.  Then one of Arlie’s aids comes rushing in.

“High General, sorry to interrupt, but there’s a situation on Ryloth.” The young Aid tells her as she hands her a comm.

“Crap.” Arlie says as she takes the comm and walks over to the corner of the room. “Aa.”

“Master Aa, it’s Commander Tachi, we’ve begun re-taking Ryloth.  That’s going well but we uh, we lost the space station.” She says over noises of explosions and blaster fire.

“General Mundi?” Arlie asks.

“I’m sorry Master, he was spaced.  General Muln has collected the body.” Tachi tells her.

“Dammit!” Arlie exclaims as she punches the wall in front of her and creating a surprisingly big hole given how small her fist is.  She rests her forehead against the wall breathing heavily for a few moments before regaining her composure. “All right, anything else to report?”

“Um yeah, General Muln kind of, um, snapped?” Tachi says hesitantly, Arl freezes.

“What do you mean snapped?”

“Well, we were in a battle and then all of the droids around us disintegrated from several massive bolts of force lightning.  He’s alright now, very temporary thing or I wouldn’t have let him go up alone to get the body, but I’m told we have to report that kind of thing.”

“Yes, thank you Tachi, keep an eye on him for me.” She says disconnecting the call as she suddenly remembers something from three days ago. She waves Obi-Wan over.

“Not good news?” He asks as he looks at her hand that was already bruising.

“No, but that’s not what I want to talk about.  You said Dooku goes by a different name now, what name?” Arlie asks quietly, Obi looks significantly less comfortable.

“Darth Tyranus.” Obi replies just as quietly, Arlie just nods running a hand through her hair that had fallen out of the French braid she usually kept it in since her knighting. “You don’t seem very surprised.”

“I’m not, it’s complicated.” She replies to his questioning gaze as she goes back to the aid and hands the comm back over. “I’m calling an emergency council meeting, sans Yoda, let them know Obi-Wan is joining us.” She tells the aid who nods and runs off.

“I am?” He asks surprised as they walk back over to their table.

“A situation has arisen and I need to borrow your General here, Quilo we have a council meeting to attend.” Arl informs them.

“We still have to speak to General Tahl.” Quilo reminds her, she nods.

“Yes, that’s going to have to wait unfortunately.” She says before the three hurry off to the war room, when they get there the entire council apart from Yoda, and of course Ki, are in the holocall.

“What’s going on?” Micah asks as soon as she enters.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Master Mundi?” Adi asks.

“I’m afraid I have bad news, Master Ki-Adi-Mundi was killed earlier today when the space station he was in was destroyed.” She informs them, there’s silence.

“Dear gods.” Depa says after a few moments.

“His body has been collected so he will be honoured correctly.  As unfortunate as this is, we all must fulfil our duties and vote in a replacement councillor, for which I nominate Obi-Wan Kenobi.”  The vote passes in short order, Obi-Wan wasn’t happy but recognised the importance of the action. “There’s also the matter of Count Dooku.  I would like to bring your attention back to the conversation we had three days ago, we missed something important.  Master Kenobi said that Dooku went by a new name but we got distracted and never found out what.”

“Is that truly important right now?” Mace questions irately, the man had been very angry lately and Arlie was quite concerned.

“If it weren’t I would not be mentioning it.” When she had everyone’s attention again she continued, “He goes by Darth Tyranus.” Everyone sucks in a breath.

“Dooku was the Master to the Apprentice you fought years ago?” Adi asks bewildered, neither Mace nor Micah were surprised since they’d discussed the possibility, neither they nor Arlie believed him to be the Master though.

“As it turns out his name was Darth Maul, but no Tyranus is not the Master, he’s an Apprentice.” Obi replies.

“Then where is the Master?” Poof asks apparently having given up on denying the Sith’s existence.

“We don’t know, but we do now have a name for him.  Darth Sidious.”

 

 

A few months later Quilo and Arlie have a full six hours off guaranteed by Yoda when she nearly passed out from exhaustion along with the two of them working out a new system to allow for sleep and all duties to be done instead of the do whatever you can while you can system they’ve been doing so far.  With their time off, Arlie and Quilo have gone to have dinner at Arlie’s parents place which they were all quite excited about given that Arl had spoken to them exactly twice since war broke out.

“Arlie.” Shmi calls happily as she hugs her daughter.

“Hi Mu-um.” She responds forcing the word out, if Shmi notices she ignores it.

“And you must be Quilo.” Shmi says hugging the girl as Cliegg and Arlie embrace.  Those two got along far more than Obi, Shmi, and Anakin felt was safe.  Owen just liked having a sister.

“It’s nice to meet you Lady Lars, Sir Lars.” Quilo says.

“Now dear, it’s Shmi and Cliegg.” Shmi tells the young padawan who nods and smiles.  “And this is Owen.” Shmi says when the young man in questions comes over after throwing himself at his sister.

After all introductions and Arlie being informed that she had a kitchen ban here after Ani told them the horror stories he had heard while they were here.

“Obi-Wan told us there is still a charred mark on the wall from the one and only time you cooked in their quarters.” Owen says as he sits with her at the table while the other three made dinner, as it turns out Quilo loves cooking.

“Oh come on, he wasn’t even living there then! How does he even…oh Qui-Gon must have told him, tattle tale.” Arlie sulks making her padawan laugh.

“You knew Qui-Gon?” Cliegg asks having heard a lot about the man from his son, Arlie nods.

“We were quite close after I first joined the order, he and his second Padawan were actually the ones that found me.” Arlie says, “I think Obi-Wan may have forgotten that on account of Master Qui-Gon avoiding me throughout all of Obi’s padawanship.”

“Why was he avoiding you?” Owen asks curiously, the adults exchange looks when Arl schools her expression for a moment before smiling at him.

“A mutual friend of ours saved us from someone very bad, neither of us liked how he did it and I guess seeing me was just a constant reminder to Qui-Gon.” Arlie explains delicately.

“That’s stupid.” Owen says, seeing her Mother about to intervene Arlie speaks first.

“I thought so to.” She says as she ruffles his hair, he complains, telling her he isn’t a child. She just sticks her tongue out at him before smiling innocently when Shmi looks round.

They are halfway through dinner before Arlie’s comm chimes.

“I thought Master Yoda said 6 hours?” Quilo complains, Arl smiles at the girl.

“It must be an emergency, sorry.” Arlie says to her Mother who waves her off with a smile, Arl goes into another room to answer the call. “Aa.”

“Arlie, oh gods I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” Reeft’s voice comes through, it was a voice call but she didn’t need to see him to know something was terribly wrong.

“What is it Reeft, what’s happened?” She asks keeping her voice calm even as she hears him openly sobbing.

“It’s Bellan, we were heading to the medical station over Corellia but we were followed and they attacked.  The station got hit, Bellan was the only fatality before I destroyed the attacking trade federation ships.” He explains, “I killed them Arlie, I killed them all but-but they killed her.  Gods Arlie they killed her.” Arlie felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“How did you destroy the ships Reeft?” She asks knowing he was in an old freighter collecting refugees, not a battle cruiser.

“I used the force, made one ship fly into the other.  I-I used the dark side Arlie.” He says sounding calmer as the sentence went on, Arlie bites back a curse.

“Have you spoken with anyone since?” She asks carefully, he laughs cruelly.

“Not exactly, they deserved it Arls, THE BASTARDS DESERVED TO DIE!” Reeft yells making Arlie flinch, she honestly had no idea if he was still talking about the separatists but either way this was not good.

“Which Jedi is stationed with you Reeft?” Arl asks in her general voice.

“The one in a coma from the first attack.” He mutters darkly before yelling and smashing a bunch of things.

“Reeft, I need you to listen to me.  We need you, Garen needs you, I really need you to stay with us.”

“I loved her Arlie, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry but I loved Bellan.” Arl smiles softly even as she feels tears fall.

“I know.” She replies sadly, the whole situation had been unbelievably messed up.

“Tell Garen I’m sorry.” Reeft requests before she hears a blaster shot and a bunch of feet running.

“REEFT!” She calls, it’s a few moments later before someone hears her calling his name.

“Who is this?” The voice of a clone asks, Arlie takes a moment to calm herself before replying.

“High General Aa, is General Reeft dead?” She asks not beating around the bush.

“Yeah, shot straight in the head, I’m sorry.” The clone says though something in his voice sounded wrong.

“What’s your name soldier?” She asks.

“CC-5052 General.” He replies, Arl rolls her eyes when he gives his designation.  She runs through in her head all the things Reeft had said and reports, she remembers now he was working with Aayla.

“Commander Bly, right?” She asks hoping she’s remembered correctly.

“Uh, yes General.” He says very obviously surprised.

“I’m sorry about your commanding officer, both of them actually. What’s Aayla’s condition?” She asks not bothering to mask the worry in her voice for her former student, no matter how brief it had been.

“A piece of the ship’s hull scraped along the side of her head, she’ll live but they aren’t sure when she will wake up.”

“Please ask the medical staff to keep me updated on her condition.”

“Yes General, um, Commander Secura was going to request we be allowed to back up her Master as he hunts for Dooku, is there a chance we could be assigned to him while she recovers?” He asks sounding nervous to even be talking to her let alone asking a favour.

“I think that’s a wise course of action, I’m putting you in charge of the 327th until you meet with General Vos, I’ll let him know to expect you and send you coordinates within an hour.” She tells him.

“Thank you General.” He says sounding relieved.

“And Commander Bly, please give my regards to Vos and let him know I’ll keep you both updated on Aayla’s condition.” Bly was very grateful to have been included in that as he disconnects the call.  Arlie sends word to the temple, requesting a council meeting, before heading back to her family.

“We heard yelling, bad news? Master have you been crying?!” Quilo asks having never seen her Master look anything more than vaguely sad, sardonically amused, faking happiness, or just plain blank.  She’d heard rumours of her Master’s ‘Ice to a Hothian’ mode but had yet to see it.

“Something bad has happened and we have to return to the temple immediately.  I’m terribly sorry Mum.” She tells her, Shmi smiles at the name coming out naturally before walking up to her daughter and taking her hands.

“You go save the galaxy, we’ll be here whenever you need us.” She says before hugging her daughter.

 

Quilo fell asleep on the transport to the temple, knowing she sleeps through basically anything and not wanting her to wake up alone in their quarters, Arlie just carries the girl on her hip straight to the war room where she finds the council waiting for her.

“Gods, Arlie what happened?” Mace asks when he sees the tear tracks on her face, she sometimes hates the quality improvements on holocalls that the war technicians deemed necessary.

“I got a call from Reeft.” She says swaying from side to side slightly as she held her sleeping Padawan. “They were shipping refugees when they were attacked, Commander Secura is in a coma.  The trade federation ships followed them back to the medical station and attacked again.  Healer Bellan was the only fatality of the attack.” Arl says her voice remaining steady.

“Arl…”Micah starts saying but she cuts him off.

“I’m not done.” She tells him earning worried looks. “Reeft fell after hearing the news, blamed himself for the death of his, um, friend, and he snapped.  He used the dark side of the force to ram one of their ships into the other killing everyone on board.” She tells them, when Depa goes to talk she holds her hand up to stop her, “I’m not done.”

“Force what else is there?!” Gallia asks aggravatedly.

“Reeft lost it again while talking to me and shot himself in the head with a blaster.  I spoke to Commander Bly afterwards and made arrangements for the 327th to rendezvous with Vos per Aayla’s previous wishes, and work under him until Commander Secura is back on her feet.  I’m told she will recover but they don’t know when she’ll wake up, they are going to be updating me.”

“Is that all?” Micah asks praying to gods he doesn’t believe in that it is.

“I’d like to head out there for a few days, they have holo capabilities so I can still run most things from there.  But they’re down a staff member and have an influx of patients, I imagine some are the healers that were on the station and survived, I want to go help out.  Me healing some of the more severely injured patients would help out quite a bit.” They spend the next hour arguing over that simple request before it is granted provided she spends no more than a week there.

“Garen is supposed to be coming to Corellia sometime tomorrow so, when he arrives here I’ll tell him.” Micah says to Arlie who nods gratefully.

“Be careful, he’s already fallen once.” Arlie says.

“Does not exist you still think of the dark side?” Yoda asks sarcastically, Arlie grabs his gimmer stick and hits him on the head with in, not an easy feat while holding a padawan.

“Deserved that you did.” Arlie replies, “And for your information this war is proving my point not yours.  People have a dark side, not the force…wait a second…”

_“You speak as though the force is a sentient being._ _”_

_“It has all the attributes of one._ _”_

_“The thing about sentient beings is, every one of them has a weakness._ _”_

_“Evil doesn_ _’t die, people do._ _”_

“I’ve been contradicting myself, he tried to warn me, he knew.  I knew, I’d said it all before, he told me all I needed to know.” Arlie mutters to herself and she starts pacing, “I should have realized that I knew all along, I’m an idiot, I’m an idiot!” She says saying the last part louder. “I was right all along but I was wrong about what I was right about, of course there’s a dark side, there’s a dark side because people have a dark side. People have a weakness, he told me, he literally told me.” She says a bit louder before laughing in a way that really worried the others.

“Arlie?” Mace asks carefully, she turns to face them and stops pacing.  Her eyes clear as though she’d finally understood the meaning of life, perhaps she had, but it was the manic smile on her face that scared him. 

“Are you feeling okay?” Micah asks when Mace says nothing.

“What? I’m fine, I just realized something Dooku was trying to tell me a few years ago.” She tells them, thankfully the smile tones down a notch.

“That’s not exactly comforting.” Obi-Wan points out.

“It has been bothering me since the day he left the order and I finally put it together, excuse me for being relieved.” She drawls, everyone settles down again now that she was behaving more normally.  They hear a few crashes and some yelling.  Then Commander Cody comes up behind Obi-Wan.

“General, Skywalker and R2D2 are having an argument, the droid pushed a table into him and Skywalker’s threatening him with a spanner.”

“Kriffing hell, those two are worse than G and Arlie, if there’s nothing else I’d like to go save my ship from further damage.” Obi requests just as they hear...

“PUT THE BLOW TORCH DOWN BEFORE I RECYCLE YOU FOR PARTS.”

“BEEP BORP JINGLE TRILL BEEP BEEEEP.”

“OH YEAH? WELL I WROTE YOUR PROGRAMMING SO IF I’M AS INTELLIGENT AS A BANTHA’S ASS THEN WHAT DOES THAT MAKE YOU?!”

“Yes, I rather think you should.” Arlie tells Obi-Wan, they all disconnect the call, Arl notices Yoda giving her a side-long glance.  “Out with it troll.”

“Unstable you seem, meditate you must.” He says, she nods before leaving the room to put her padawan to bed and do as instructed.


	15. A War Long Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They were lost long before the War was. Then again, was it ever not?

It’s been 2 and a half years since the war began and they seem no closer to ending it.  Every time they think they have an advantage it’s taken from them, but the same can be said for the other side.  The Republic has control of over half the galaxy but the separatists, Dooku, won’t give up.  Due to several different weird and annoying circumstances, Mace, Micah, and Garen are all on Coruscant.  Arlie knew they were coming but didn’t know they had arrived, when walking through a corridor with her Padawan she noticed something that actually made her squeal with delight, the door of her Master’s quarters had been left open.

“Why do they leave the door open?” Quilo asks curiously.

“Ask your Master, she started it!” Garen calls from inside, the two hurry in and find the three sitting around the coffee table like old times, except for Garen having a mechanical leg after he lost one in a crash when his fighter was shot down.  Anakin had made Garen a leg personally to make sure it was good.

“Master?” Quilo asks, it was only then that Arlie realised why she had done it all those years ago.

“It reminded me I wasn’t trapped anymore.” She replies, Quilo knew about the pirates and about Arlie being thirty-five not twenty-five and also the basics of what had happened to her, so she knew her Master was talking about the room.

“Huh.” Mace says as he finally got an answer to a question he’d never bothered asking. 

“How goes being a Padawan to a crazy person? Believe me I can relate.” Garen mock whispers to Quilo who laughs when Micah pouts.

“Master Aa isn’t crazy in comparison to the reports that come in about stuff you do.” Quilo says in return, Arlie high fives her immediately.

“Definitely your Padawan.” Mace says to Arlie who smiles.

“So, can I ask a question that everyone is gonna hate me for asking?” Garen asks suddenly sounding rather timid, they all nod. “Anyone in here fallen at any point?”

“For about five seconds a few months ago.” Micah answers with a grimace, Arlie smiles supportively.

“That’s actually why I’m here, Junie sent me to take a break and clear my head after an incident a few days ago. I-I’m okay now but it uh, it wasn’t good.” Mace tells them looking at the floor, Arlie already knew and went over to put an arm around her former Master.

“What about you Arls?” Garen asks.

“Nope.” She replies honestly, he looks shocked.

“Not even for a moment?” She shakes her head.

“I had to deal with everything when Yoda had a breakdown after an incident in the senate last year.  That was frightening.  But no, I haven’t.”

“Yoda fell?” Micah asks surprised and thinking the rest of the council should have been aware.

“No, it was close though.  We didn’t tell anyone because well, he’s Yoda and things were bad enough as they were.” They all have to admit it makes sense even if they don’t like it.

“I’ve fallen twice now.” Garen admits sounding ashamed.

“Stop thinking about it like that, every Jedi has fallen at some point by now, but you, you came back.  You came back twice!  No one else has managed that.  If someone falls for a second time, they haven’t come back.” Arlie tells him which does seem to cheer him up a bit.  “I don’t know what that’s like but I can’t imagine it’s easy.”

“No, it really isn’t.” Mace says his hands shaking slightly, Arl puts her hands over his to steady them.

“I think we need a group hug.” Quilo tells them, they all laugh and agree.

That night Arlie and Garen camp out in the lounge room as they had many times before, Quilo slept in the Padawan room and Mace and Micah slept in their room.

“Do you think Winni and Mic are okay? I haven’t seen them do anything couple-y.” Garen says sounding worried.

“I think that they have been away from each other for a long time and in that time, have been through a lot.  I also think that Winni is struggling right now and Mic doesn’t want to push him.” Arl replies.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He concedes.

“You’ll soon come to learn, I’m always right.” She suddenly remembers the first time she said those words nineteen years ago, but instead of the memory hurting, she smiles. “I’m glad I stayed.” She says, he rolls over to face her, instinctively knowing exactly what she’s talking about.

“I’m glad you stayed too.” He seems to think for a moment before leaning over and kissing her, she freezes for a moment before kissing him back.

 

The next morning Arlie and Garen are making tea and waiting for the others to wake up, well Arlie is making tea, Garen is making breakfast.  They both keep smiling at each other giddily, so focused on one another that they completely miss their Masters entering the room.

“The bacon is burning.” Mace says with an amused smile on his face, Garen curses and manages to save the bacon, Arlie laughs at him.

“Oh shut up, even if the bacon did burn it’d still be better than your cooking.”

“Are you still angry about the pan?” She asks smiling sweetly, mirth dancing in her eyes.

“Considering you threw it at my head, yes.  You’re lucky I ducked and it went out the window.” He replies, she walks over and wraps her arms around his waist.

“Oh come on, I said sorry and you know I didn’t mean to.” She says looking up at him through her eyelashes, he leans down and kisses her sweetly.

“And you can keep saying sorry.” He says as he goes to serve up the food, she sticks her tongue out at him.

“About kriffing time!” Micah says happily.

“Where did the word Kriff even come from?  It shows up in nearly every report we get.” Arlie says.

“Kamino.” Mace replies while Garen gets a thoughtful look on his face.

“I think I’ve just realised why reports are important, you guys need to know what’s happened and not just when we call coz something’s gone wrong.” Garen says making all present roll their eyes.

“Perhaps now I can receive a report from you that isn’t half unnecessary innuendos and metaphors or sarcastic drivel.” Arlie tells him.

“I am so glad you don’t work under me.” Mace tells him as Arlie’s comm chimes.

“Aa.” She says.

“General, they’re a walking kriffing disaster!” Rex’s voice says, she’s proud that she recognises each of the clones she speaks to regularly from voice alone.

“Which one and what’s he done?” Arlie asks as she smiles ruefully.

“Well first it was General Kenobi, he got captured and instead of reporting it, General Skywalker decides to go save him.  Then we don’t hear back and following in her Master’s footsteps, Commander Tano goes to save them but at least she brought back up.  We got them back but Kenobi needs medical attention badly, Skywalker is a little loose in the head and Tano is freaking out.  I’m requesting permission to book it back to Coruscant Ma’am.” She sighs knowing she would have to deal with this headache.

“Permission granted, see you tonight Commander, oh wait, you prefer Captain, don’t you?” She asks, feeling all of her recovered energy begin to drain away.

“Yes General, I appreciate you remembering.” Rex says, it makes her happy that he doesn’t sound surprised.  Arl signs off and goes back to breakfast which Quilo has now joined.

“Who was that?” Garen asks.

“Captain Rex.”

“What did they do and how long is it gonna take to fix?” Quilo asks in a whine as she drops her head dramatically onto the table.  Mace and Micah look shocked but a look at Arlie tells them that in this instance, for whatever reason, the behaviour is okay.

“Who’s Captain Rex?” Micah asks curiously.

“The Commander of the 501st.” She replies.

“Ah, Obi and Ani at it again?” Garen asks.

“And Ahsoka, Yoda and I were hoping it would mellow Ani out but nope, she’s just as bad.  Though admittedly he does think things through a little more.” Arlie tells them.

“I don’t mean to be disrespectful Master but...” Quilo begins to say.

“Yes I know, you called it.” Arl replies with a smile.  It’s ten minutes later when her comm chimes again and Arlie just about throws it against the wall. “Aa.”

“Commander, they’ve spotted Darth Tyranus on Ryloth. Commander Harril has engaged him and General Tachi is leading an assault but has requested that you specifically be on overwatch.”

“Already on my way Gart.” Arl says as she puts her tunic on over her undershirt as quickly as possible. “Quilo, we got to go.”

“Yeah we heard, I’m going with you.” Garen says, Arlie is about to argue when he continues, “Grey is my Padawan and Tachi my responsibility.  I made the decision to come here instead of send Tachi like I originally planned.  I. am. Coming.” Arl nods so they hurry off saying goodbye to their Masters as they leave.

They go to the war room and watch the battle play out, tapped into the comms they hear it all too. Then Dooku uses force lightning to strike Grey down and Quilo drops to the ground sobbing immediately, Arl picks her up and tries to sooth her when a voice comes through Grey’s comm.

“High General Aa.” Dooku says.

“Darth Tyranus.” Arlie replies coldly.

“Terribly sorry about the Padawan, I hate wasted talent.”

“What do you want Dooku?” She snarls.

“My my, testy, I just wanted to let you know that I knew he was alive, and I found him.  He’s dead. You could kill me for that, could kill my whole army and it won’t matter because in the end, I was right that day in the library Arleia.  Evil doesn’t die, people do.” He says before breaking the comm. Garen leaves slamming the old-fashioned door behind him.  The battle is over in short order, Arl congratulates Tachi before leaving the room.  She tries to comfort her Padawan but she can barely even hear her, her feet automatically take them back to her Master’s quarters where Micah is attempting to calm down a hysterically yelling former Padawan of his, Arlie feels numb.  She sits on the couch as she rubs circles in her Padawan’s back but she feels so out of it, she can’t feel anything, sounds seem so far away and it’s like her brain can’t keep up with what she’s seeing.

“What happened to her?” Mace asks Garen when his Padawan doesn’t react to him at all.

“I DON’T KRIFFING KNOW!” He yells before turning around and just yelling as he shoots force lightning uselessly over the kitchen cupboards.

“PADAWAN STOP!” Micah yells in a desperate pleading voice.

“NO! I AM NOT FIGHTING SOME WAR FOR THE REPUBLIC THAT SENT MY PADAWAN OUT TO DIE! SHE WAS SIXTEEN MIC, SHE DIDN’T DESERVE THIS SHE DIDN’T DESERVE ANY OF IT! SO NO! I WILL NOT STOP I WILL DAMN WELL KEEP GOING BECAUSE I AM GOING TO KILL THAT BASTARD AND ANYONE WHO TRIES TO STOP ME!” He yells before grabbing his lightsaber and storming out.

That was the last time any of them saw him for the remainder of the war.  He became a real thorn in their side though, when his multiple attempts to kill Dooku got in the way of their operations.  At some point, he fell so far that when such things happened he’d attack the troops and Jedi there when they got in the way of his latest scheme.

Arlie shuts off completely after finding out Xanatos was truly dead, she didn’t tell Obi-Wan and Anakin.  She wanted to save them some pain, didn’t want to break another heart, not when every time she looks in her Padawan’s eyes she sees the look that has haunted her own face since she ran into Xanatos on her 18th birthday and realised he was truly gone.

A month later an emergency council meeting is called making Arlie and Quilo wake in the middle of the day, to them it was night, to join it.

“What’s the situation?” Arl asks walking in, surprised to find her brother and step-brother in the war room along with Mace and Yoda.

“Dooku is dead.” Obi-Wan tells her immediately, somehow that news was the worst she had gotten since Reeft’s rather dramatic death.  Most things didn’t get past her numb exterior but this, this got through to her core.

“How?” She asks in a whisper, those present seemed torn between surprise at her open reaction and being not surprised at all.

“I did it.” Anakin admits quietly, she turns to look at him, he holds her gaze without faltering. “I had him, Chancellor Palpatine agreed it was the best course of action.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” Arl spits venomously, Anakin looks hurt, Mace and Mic worried about what she may say about Palpatine, everyone else worried if this would be the tipping point for her.

“We were just discussing Windu’s posting, we are all in agreement that he should be on Coruscant as Master Bordo has requested.” Tiin tells her, she nods not remembering why such a request was made but really not caring.

“Arl?” Anakin asks, she looks up at him when suddenly she doesn’t see him anymore…

_Black armour, mechanical breathing, how can someone feel like death? He stares at her through the bars of her cell, his silence promising more pain than words could have, but he can_ _’t cause her more pain than he already has._

…Or maybe she does.

“Arlie?!” Mace calls snapping his fingers in front of her, hand on her shoulder shaking her slightly, she looks away from her brother and to her Master.

“Master, I think we just lost the war.” Arl whispers to her Master whose face morphs from worry to confusion before landing on horror-fuelled apprehension.

“We should be celebrating this victory, it’s a big step towards stopping the separatists’ plot.” Yarael reminds her, “I know he was your friend but this is a good thing, us winning not us losing.” She smiles in a rather unpleasant way while shaking her head.

“No, it’s us playing right into Sidious’ hand.  Strike one down and another will rise in his place, after all there is always two.  Evil doesn’t die, people do.” She tells them all, the horror-fuelled apprehension is now shared by all.

“You don’t know that, we know nothing of how Sith operate when one has died.” Obi reminds her, she looks at him, something in her face telling everyone that they’ve just cemented something in her mind, and honestly, they are wondering now where exactly that leaves her in the war effort. Something in her just settled into place, something they all could have done without.

“You are right, you know nothing about it.  Because for whatever reason the Jedi seem to think it prudent to ignore the existence of a threat in the hope that they can will it away, never learning of their potential enemy in case they are wrong.  Well luckily not everyone is as oblivious as that, some of us have been working for years to ensure that when this battle was fought, someone was prepared.  A Master has an Apprentice, but always is working on another, so that should his Apprentice die there is one to take his place.  Should the Apprentice succeed in killing the Master they will usually take on that half-converted apprentice, or kill them outright and choose another. We have done as Sidious wanted and now we have lost.  I hope you are all prepared to find out exactly how bad things can get in this galaxy, because by the force are we going to find out.  And the next time one of your own begs you to hear their warning, I suggest you listen before they turn on you and get killed by your pet prophecy.” Arl snarls walking to the door, “Didn’t think I’d ever agree with Dooku again.” She mutters as she leaves.  Quilo hesitates for a moment before following her Master out the door.

“…Whhhat just happened here?” Mic asks after a long moment of silence, looks are exchanged by all but Yoda who simply looks at the ground gravely.

“Something that a long time coming is.”

“Arl falling?” Depa asks worriedly, Yoda smiles sadly and shakes his head.

“No, her being right.  And finding myself I am, unable to argue with her.”

 

Five months later Mace tries to arrest Palpatine, Mace dies. Arlie is in the temple when Order 66 is issued, she’s there when her brother comes and slaughters them all.  She doesn’t know who it is at first, merely knowing they were under attack and getting as many people out as possible, she gets Quilo out and when heading to evacuate the younglings using the old council chamber she sees him, sees him kill the younglings before turning and seeing her.  She sees his yellow eyes, the same way Obi-Wan had once described Xanatos’ eyes.  Gods did Obi know?  They stood facing each other for a moment.

“Are you going to kill me, brother?” Arlie asks eventually, her voice broken.

“I was ordered to kill all the Jedi.” Anakin replies, Arlie nods sadly as she feels herself break.

“I won’t stop you.” She says barely above a whisper anymore.

“Why not?” He asks as though wishing she would.

“Because I’d let the galaxy burn to keep you safe.  If being on his side is safer now, and you need to do this, then do it.” She says looking at him with nothing but love and genuine heart break in her eyes. “I love you Anakin, I always will.”

“I’m sorry Arlie.” He says before he walks forwards towards her, she looks to the ground, unable to hold eye contact, but then he walks straight past her and out the door, she lets out a sob before collapsing to the ground in tears.

 

Obi-Wan finds her sometime later curled up in the corner of the room, still brokenly sobbing and unable to stop or even care enough to try.

“Arl, I am so sorry.” Obi says as he holds her.

“I should have listened to Dooku, he warned me to keep Anakin away from Palpatine.” She says confusing both Obi and Yoda.

“Dooku warned you about Sidious?” Obi-Wan asks.

“Yeah, many years ago. I just didn’t want to tell Anakin the truth. All these excuses, not my place to do so, Mace wouldn’t without your permission and you.  You saw how close they were getting, WHY DIDN’T YOU WARN HIM?!” Arl suddenly yells to Obi-Wan.

“You saw this coming, how long did you know Palpatine was Sidious?” Obi-Wan asks disbelievingly.

“A month or so before the war was when we first put it together.” Arl admits Yoda looks shocked.

“We?” He asks.

“Me, Winni, Mic, Reeft, Bellan, Terza, Bant, and Tahl.” She says, barely coherently it was dawning on her that out of that list, only she and Mic remained.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone Anakin was falling? You had to have known. You knew with Xanatos, you knew with Dooku.  Every time someone was about to fall you could tell upon seeing them.  How long did you know he was falling? Why didn’t you do anything?!” Obi-Wan asks brokenly.

“I knew since Grievous’ aborted attack on Naboo. And I did try, I sent him Ahsoka. I thought having someone to look after would help him.”

“Stop them we will.” Yoda tells them, Arl turns to face him.

“You will? You haven’t done any good for three years, or even before and do you know why?  Because you’re a Jedi Master, you follow a broken code and let a disembodied child tell you what to do.  WELL I HATE THE JEDI, I HATE THE FORCE AND I HATE YOU!  YOU WANT TO KILL MY BROTHER?! You’re going to have to kill me first.” Arlie snarls at him, her purple eyes glowing brightly.

“As you wish.” Yoda replies sadly before pulling out his lightsaber.  The two engage in battle, Obi-Wan tries to tell them to stop but they won’t and he knows he can’t beat either of them.

Arlie doesn’t know how long they’ve been fighting when she throws her lightsaber away and uses force-magic to drive the air from his lungs as she raises him into the air.

“ARLEIA STOP!” Micah yells from the doorway, out of breath as though he’d been running. She listens and Yoda falls to the ground trying desperately to breathe again. “Arlie please, I can’t lose you too.”

“I can feel him Master, he’s broken and hurting and I don’t know how to help.” She says looking at her Master, feeling more lost than she has in her entire life.

“You can’t Arls, he’s too far gone now.” Mic replies.

“YOU ALL THOUGHT THAT ABOUT XANATOS TOO AND HE LIVED PEACEFULLY FOR ALMOST TWENTY YEARS UNTIL DOOKU KILLED HIM!” Arlie yells, Obi-Wan drops his head into his hands at the news that Xan had died.

“I’m so sorry.” He says though whether to her or the others she can’t tell.

“Arlie, come with me, please.  Leave them to deal with this.” Micah requests, Arlie debates for a while.

“I can’t just leave them to kill my baby brother.  I left my entire life behind, everyone I cared about to come here and save him because I knew he needed to be saved. I’ve failed so many things, so many people, I _can_ _’t_ fail him too.”

“Wait, don’t!” Arlie hears Micah yell before everything goes black.

 

She slowly comes to and sees a dark room with no windows, she immediately panics, how could she be back how could this be happening!

“Arlie, Arlie wake up!” Micah calls, she sits up breathing hard as she wakes.

“Wher-where am I?” She asks urgently, still very disoriented and with a pounding headache.

“Tatooine, what’s the last thing you remember?” Mic asks, she thinks back.

“Someone hit me in the back of the head, wait, not someone, gods, Obi hit me in the back of the head?!”

“With the hilt of his lightsaber, yeah.”

“Oh god, they’re going to kill Anakin!” Arlie yells.

“Arlie, it’s too late. It’s done.” Micah tells her, Arlie’s breath is caught in her throat.

“W-What happened?” She asks tears streaming freely down her face.

“Obi-Wan and he fought on Mustafar.  Arlie, Anakin killed Padmè.” He tells her.

“No! H-He wouldn’t even kill me, he wouldn’t kill his wife…wait, the kid?” She asks thinking the secrecy no longer mattered.

“Turns out it was twins, boy and a girl.  They’re alive, the Senator named them before she died.”

“What are their names?” She asks as tears fill her eyes.

“Well the boy’s name is Luke.”

“And the girl?” Mic smiles at her.

“Leia.” Arlie smiles before crying again, gut wrenching sobbing as her Master holds her.  But the kids lived, maybe she could too.

“Where are they?” She asks after she finally calms down.

“Well I don’t know about Leia but, Luke is with your parents.” Arl brightens a bit.

“Where are they?”

“The farm they used to live on, they still owned it so we relocated them back to hide them from Vader.  Figured he wouldn’t look there.” Arlie smiles relieved they are safe, pushing her questioning of Vader’s identity away momentarily, before she realises something.

“Mic, that farm is on Tatooine.”

“Yep.”

“We’re on the farm, aren’t we?”

“Yep.”

“You’re an asshole.”

He grins at her, “Yep.”

“Who’s Vader?” She asks him confused, he freezes and watches her.

“No one you know.” He replies honestly, she seems confused and unconvinced, “Trust me.” He tells her, she may not have made the pact with him, but it got her attention in the way he needed it to.

“No hesitation.” She says before they both break down again, now mourning the loss of Master/Lover respectively.

 

A little while later the two venture out of Arlie’s new room and into the main house to find Shmi, Cliegg, Owen, and Luke.

“Gimme the baby!” Arlie says as soon as she walks in the room, “Also hi.” She says with a smile as she takes the baby from her mother.

“Hello Arl.” Cliegg says, Arlie flinches.

“Arleia. It’s Arleia or Arlie just please, not that.” Arlie tells them, they all nod.

“Arlie can you take me to town tomorrow?” Owen asks putting on the cutest face he could manage, given that he was just shy of twenty-five, it did not work particularly well.

“You just don’t want to walk.” Micah teases.

“It’s so hot! I haven’t been on Tatooine for five years! I think it got hotter!” Owen complains.

“Try not having been here in thirty years.” Arlie replies getting weird looks from almost everyone present, “I mean twenty, sorry.” Arlie says shaking her head as though clearing away the confusion, Micah snorts back laughter. “Shut it.” She hisses to him with a laugh.

“Owen, I doubt Arlie has ever driven a speeder either.” Cliegg points out.

“You would be so very very wrong. I wish you were right though.” Micah tells them, Arlie rolls her eyes at him while bouncing her nephew.

“But did we die?” She asks he looks at her like she’s crazy.

“No but two other people did!”

“I was aiming for them!”

“You were supposed to stay with the ship!”

“It’s been fifteen years Mic, I am not having this conversation again.” Arlie tells him, he just rolls his eyes.

“So, does that mean you’ll take me?” Owen asks making Shmi sigh.

“As long as our parents are okay with it, sure.” Arlie replies.

 ** _“Are we staying here Mic?_** ** _”_** Arlie asks through their bond.

 ** _“For now._** ** _”_** He replies, “Padawan alert.” Micah jokes, Arlie turns and sees her Padawan bolting towards her, she hands the baby to Micah before kneeling down and catching her.

“Quilo!” Arleia says happily.

“Hey Master!” The girl replies happily, it hurt Arlie to see the scar she had on her cheek but it was also a reminder that Quilo had survived, that there was someone Arlie hadn’t failed.  This, Arlie thought, this she could work with.


	16. Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say the beginning always starts with the end.

It has been twelve years since the empire took over, Obi-Wan came to Tatooine on a self-imposed exile that they seriously stuffed up by constantly inviting him over and going to see him.  Eventually though, Arlie caught a lead on Garen’s location and decided to go speak to him.

“Arlie, I don’t know about this, you know how far he fell.” Micah says when she’s packing a bag.

“I understand why you aren’t coming with me Mic, but I need to do this, if I don’t he’ll keep going after Sheev who will send his apprentice and then either Garen dies or Anakin does.” Arlie whispers to him, his eyes go wide.

“How did you…?” Mic asks, Obi and he had specifically not told anyone about that.

“He’s my brother.” She replies simply, for her though, Micah guesses that’s enough.

“Who are you trying to save here Arlie?  Your fallen friend, or Vader?” Arlie looks at him very pissed off.

“I don’t know.” She replies her face softening immediately.  She says goodbye to her family getting a hug from Luke and a ‘bye Aunty Arlie.’  Owen offers to go with her but she turns him down. “It’s something I need to do on my own.”

“He’s more than just a friend, isn’t he?” Cliegg asks as she walks to the door.

“He always has been.” She replies while smiling sadly before walking out, feeling something she hadn’t felt since Dooku left the order, a sense of finality.  She knew that whatever happens next, she wasn’t coming back, somehow that relieved her.

 

It took a week for her to find him, eventually ending up on Alderaan, by now she’d worked out where Leia was, it was nice to be close to her and feel her presence in the force even if she couldn’t ever meet her.

“Hello Garen.” Arlie says when she finds him in a hotel room polishing his lightsaber.

“Arlie, what are you doing here?” He asks, anger automatically marring his face, he looked terrible.  Dark crescents under his eyes, all skin and bone, his hair a matted mess tied back loosely, and an overgrown beard, not to mention the obvious shake in his hands.

“I miss you.” She replies, his face softens, an act that does little to hide the shadows in his eyes.

“I miss you too Arls.  I think I’ve finally found a way to do it Arlie, I can kill him.” Garen says looking manically delighted.

“Then what?” She asks as she sits next to him on the bed.

“I, I don’t know.  Then he’s dead, after everything are you really saying you don’t want him dead?” He asks incredulously some of his anger bleeding through.

“I don’t wish people dead.”

“Oh, you’re too much of a Jedi?!”

“Now that’s just insulting.”

“ARLIE I CAN’T LET THIS GO!” He yells at her.

“I know, that’s why I’m here.  I’m going to help you and then you’re going to go home. You’re going to beg Mic to help you and you are going to stay.” Arlie tells him sternly.

“Where are you going to be during that?” He asks suspiciously.

“I don’t know.” She replies honestly, he nods and fills her in on his plan.  Surprisingly, it’s not complete gibberish, but an actual plan that has a real chance of working.

It may have even succeeded if Vader hadn’t entered the room at that exact moment and killed Garen instantly.

“ANI NO!” Arlie screamed grabbing Garen’s body and cradling it against her.  “No, G, please no.” Vader looks her over for a moment before turning to walk away, Arlie grabs Garen’s lightsaber and stands up, feeling the force coalesce around her waiting for her to tell it what to do.  “COWARD!  YOU’VE LEFT ME ALIVE WHEN YOU SHOULD HAVE KILLED ME TWICE NOW!” She accuses him, he turns back to look at her.

“I do not wish for you to die dear sister.” He replies with a distorted voice and no emotion.

“Too late for that.” She replies sparing a glance at Garen.  “You are not my brother Darth Vader, you killed my Ani with your darkness.  So, one of us is going to die today, and we both know you can’t beat me.”

“You are too much of a Jedi.” He tells her calmly, she gives a deadly smirk.

“You’re talking to the only force-sensitive in the universe that hates the force.” She says, the words of her lost friend bringing her comfort, “And you’ve just reminded me of something.  I am no Jedi.” She replies before using force-magic to disintegrate him, but it’s intercepted by something, she turns and sees the Emperor himself.

“Finally, we truly meet.” Sheev says to her.

“You know there is only one person I hate more than you in the universe.  You killed my step-brother’s mother you bastard, your own wife.” She says to him.

“So long ago I had nearly forgotten, of all the things to be angry at me for, why that?” He asks, she thinks over everything he’s done.

“Because that’s the event that started everything.” He smirks at her.

“I think you’ll make a good apprentice.” He says, it’s then that she realises the trouble she’s in, he’s got her in a force hold.

They take her back to the old Jedi temple turned Imperial Palace and down to an all too familiar cell.

_Black armour, mechanical breathing, how can someone feel like death? He stares at her through the bars of her cell, his silence promising more pain than words could have, but he can_ _’t cause her more pain than he already has._

“You are going to tell me the location of any living Jedi and you are going to pledge yourself to my service.” Sidious tells her, somehow, she doesn’t think it’s a request.

“You know, I gotta admit, I’m weirdly curious to see if you can manage that.” She tells him with a smirk, he seems infuriated by the simple sentence, “Wow, you are weirdly Yoda-like.” Arleia says, he hurls force-lightning at her, she screams.  When it finally ends after what feels like forever, she looks up at him and smirks, “That tickles.”

 

A week later, she is in his throne room as he continues his latest round of torture, this time he is carving words into her back with a dagger laced with something that is making it hurt a hell of a lot more than it should have.

“Join me Arleia Skywalker, and this will all end.” Sidious says to her.

“Oh I don’t know, I’m starting to enjoy these little sessions of ours, it’s getting rather intimate dontcha think?” She replies with a wink, he scowls and randomly slices down her arm before moving towards the door.  “You know really, I should thank you.” She tells him, waiting for him to stop walking away before continuing, “You called me by my name, and reminded me exactly why it is I’m resisting you.” He screams in anger as he hurls force-lightning at her for a few long moments before he storms out.

A few minutes later Vader walks in to escort her back to her cell as he always does.

“Now will you kill me brother?  You said you didn’t want to hurt me, now it would be a mercy.” She tells him, he looks at her with the helmet blocking any hope she has of discerning his feelings.

“If you truly want your pain to stop, give in.  My Master will not stop, he has thirty-eight years of hell to draw from your life and make you suffer with.” Vader tells her making her suspect some form of psychological torture was next on the agenda, then she noticed exactly what he had said.

“Thirty-Eight years?”

“That is your age.”

“That means it’s been thirty-one years.” She says confusing the Sith Apprentice before her. “I’m too late, I failed.  My mission…it’s over…I’ve failed.”

“What are you talking about?” Vader demands as he throws her in her cell, seeming to up the intimidation when she does not immediately answer his query.

He stares at her through the bars of her cell, his silence promising more pain than words could have, but he can’t cause her more pain than he already has.

“Glare all you want, your Master can do whatever he wants, I’ve nothing left to live for.” She tells him.

“The surviving Jedi are meaningless to you?” She just stares at him blankly.

“They are dead anyway, so are you, nothing can save any of us now, I failed.  So you tell your dear Master that, tell him he is going to die, that everything will, that his Empire will fall and it will have nothing to do with the Jedi, nor me.  That it was _his_ mistake, that the one person who could have saved everyone failed in her task because of him.  Tell him he condemned the galaxy to death, his Empire, all of reality.  Tell him he can do what he likes, but I will sit in this cell day in and day out watching all of reality fall apart with a damned smile on my face because I have NOTHING! But he? He has everything, and now I get a front row seat to watch him lose it all because of his own actions.  That is a far better revenge than anything I could ever have managed.” Arlie tells him as she grabs the bars, pulling herself right into Vader’s face and grinning madly, “Checkmate you Bastard.”

Unsurprisingly the torture ramps up after that. But no matter what Sidious did, it never wiped the smile off Arl’s face.  Content was she, to wait and watch, knowing that even if she got out, it would change nothing.  Given the chance, she would rather watch the Empire fall apart than her family cease to exist.  Even as he makes her scream in agony, she smiles, because whilst she failed, she has also ensured that he loses too.  Justice for Lorna Palpatine, for Obi-Wan Kenobi, for Mace Windu, for Padmè Naberrie, for Luke and Leia Skywalker, for Bant Eerin, for Grey Harril, For Bellan, for Reeft, for Qui-Gon Jinn, For Jard Dooku, For Xanatos Du Crion, For Garen Muln.  And for her, she who gave up everything for a boy who he took from her anyway, justice for the people she left behind, justice for Phoebe Holp as much as Arleia Skywalker and Arl Aa. He had lost, and there was no sweeter victory. And so, she smiled.

When she felt something change, something snap, she had no idea how long it had been, only that it was happening.  Suddenly she had no desire to be here when it happened, content in the knowledge that it would, there was someone she had to re-join before they no longer existed. She broke the door to her cell, as she had been able to the entirety of her capture, and takes the stairs she is so familiar with to a balcony she had not seen in what felt like a lifetime.

She stands on that balcony and hides herself from them in the force.  She senses Vader searching for her in the temple, Palpatine standing out the front of the main entrance knowing they’ve lost her. 

Arlie stands there wondering how in the hell it all went wrong.  She thought of the day she first said goodbye to her mother and decided she hated that day, more than the Jedi and the force, more than Yoda, she hated that day so much it hurt, so much she could feel it filling her entire being.  All the things that had happened and it all started there.  Garen, Anakin, Bant, Bellan, Reeft, Padmè, everyone, and it all started right kriffing then.  When she handed over her brother and said goodbye.  She climbs over the railing, not yet letting go, and feels a presence, not exactly near her but surrounding her, it pushes against her to return her to the safety of the balcony but she resists as that day replayed in her mind.

_“_ _I need you to be brave,_ _”_

“Hello Master, it’s been a while.” She says to the air as she smiles.

_“_ _we will see each other again, I know it._ _”_

“I know you want me to live, but this is for the best, trust me.” She knew her dear Winni wouldn’t leave her.

_“_ _Have faith that things will be okay sweetheart,_ _”_

She feels the pushing cease and instead the presence envelops her as though holding her as she did this.

_“_ _and remember that I love you._ _”_

“I love you too.” She whispers before she pushes away from the railing, and lets go, instead of falling as she expects she lands on something hard and her step echoes, it’s metal.  She opens her eyes and looks around seeing only dark.  She uses the force to light the room and sees the old closet on the pirate ship, she looks down and sees herself in slave clothes.  She’s seven again, and on the pirate ship in the room of her nightmares, again, “What the fuck!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's a wrap folks! Thank you to anyone who reads this, I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> There will be a sequel!


End file.
